


The Soul's Journey

by iHateFridays



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Cute PJO fanfic, Friendship, Nico Has Friends, Nico becomes friends with this annoying girl, Nico is too, Poor Nico, Sad girl tho, Will is overprotective, he's also a babysitter, solangelo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2019-08-14 15:38:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 26,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16495487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iHateFridays/pseuds/iHateFridays
Summary: Monsters everywhere, another prophecy, and a boy healing. Nico di Angelo wasn't sure how saving the world was going to go this time, but he didn't expect he'd be babysitting and protecting an unrealistically beautiful girl from perhaps every monster in existence. Especially since she knows way too much about him. Will he come out as a hero, or crack under the pressure? Cover: http://fav.me/dcqypao On hiatus!!





	1. The girl in the snow

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I've returned to the PJO fandom at last with another fanfic owo
> 
> I got out of PJO for a while, then I got back into it again, and got an idea for a new fanfic. It's all about one of my favourite PJO characters, Nico. I was hoping to show off his kinder side in this fanfic. ;p
> 
> This isn't OC x Nico, I mean he's with Will in this fanfic so... it's more of a friendship thing. Nico deserves friendship okay...
> 
> I made a speedpaint video for the cover, you can watch it on my YouTube channel (iHateFridays) if you're interested.
> 
> Happy reading and I hope you enjoy!

Hey there.

I know what you're thinking: where's Percy Jackson? I can't blame you, I'd be asking the same question. Percy is way better at this writing stuff. Yet, here I am. Why did I agree to do this? Well, I was asked (ahem, pleaded), to record my adventure by Chiron. Even though I have dyslexia. Yeah...

Who am I? I am Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades. Yes, I know. Underworld. While I may be creepy, I'm not evil. I promise.

This is a story of something… very… un-Hades-like, to be honest. A very un-Hades-like quest, that is. Well... maybe. You'll see what I mean.

...

Well. I guess I can't beat around the bush anymore.

This whole nonsense began with, as with many other demigods' quests, a dream.

I was standing in a quiet street. The road was covered in a layer of cracked snow. Small houses, faintly lit by the rising sun, sat behind white fences. Lawns were covered in melting snow. It seemed to be early morning. A pleasant morning.

Then, beneath a lamp post, in a pile of snow, I saw something horrible.

A dead body.

I woke up with alarm, almost banging my head on my bedhead. I was sitting in my cabin (lucky number 13) at Camp Half-Blood, the training grounds (and one of the only safe places) for demigods like me. I climbed out of my bed, almost shivering from the icy weather. While I had basically covered my bed in blankets, the cold still managed to get through. I hate winter. And it's not just because of the weather, it's because it's that time of the year when... certain family members are around.

I stood up, hugging myself. Despite how stupid-cold it was outside, I felt an urge to shadow-travel to that… body. I had to see if it was real. I couldn't just let a potentially dead body sit there, could I?

I got up, slipping on a winter jacket (my boyfriend would yell at me if I went outside without it) and shadow-travelled to the street I saw in my dream. The real place was pretty much identical to my dream; the snow was there and everything. Unfortunately, so was the body.

I ran towards it, ignoring the fatigue shadow-travel gave me. I could rest later.

There was indeed a body in the snow. I walked over to it. Thankfully, they weren't dead, but they weren't in a healthy state either.

I kneeled down to pull the body out of the snow. It belonged to a young girl wearing clothing that could only be described as a 'plain Jane' style: grey t-shirt, dark grey jeans, grey scarf. But when I almost dropped her when I saw her face.

Her skin was milky-white, without a single blemish, freckle, or birthmark. Her cheeks were rounded, but puffy with a slight blush. Her chin was perfectly sculpted. Her hair reached up to her neck. It was a light brown with blonde streaks at the tips. I had never seen anyone so, well, beautiful. (Don't kill me, Aphrodite, Aphrodite's cabin, Will.) It was like I was staring at Barbie's long lost sister. I kid you not, I was intimidated by her beauty. I wanted to leave her there, in case I ruined her hair or scratched her perfect skin.

Now, I assure you, I am gay and I do have a boyfriend. But her beauty was like a trance. My homosexuality may have saved me in the end, as well as the fact that this girl was like ten and it was pretty weird to perv on a kid. Oh, and she was dying. Did I mention that? I shook my head, and held her body. I focused on shadow-travelling back to Camp. I ended up in the infirmary, which was open, luckily enough. Probably because Will is an early riser. My boyfriend was there, talking to a young kid.

"Just try not to run too much for the next few days, and you'll be fine," Will told the kid, patting them on the shoulder. He nodded at them as they left. He looked up and smiled at me. "Hey Nico, what's…" He trailed off when he saw the kid in my arms. His eyes widened. I almost felt jealous. I wish he'd look at me like that.

"Found her in the snow," I explained. "She needs help. Urgently."

"She's…" Will was staring at her like she was a goddess. I can't blame him, I was doing the same thing five minutes beforehand. "I…"

"Will, she's dying." I said, getting my boyfriend out of his trance.

"R-right," Will cleared his throat. "Put her o-over here." He stood over a medical bed. I put the girl on the bed, and Will put his hand on her forehead (nervously, I must add). He frowned and pulled out some Ambrosia and Nectar.

"We'll need fresh clothes," he said. "And blankets. It's on you, di Angelo."

I gave him a nod and went off to retrieve those things. Will has often said we make a pretty good team, and even joked about us going into the medical business together: him as the main doctor, me as the assistant. I've learnt a few things about healing from him (as well as plenty of lectures about my mental and physical health), but that does not necessarily mean I want to become a doctor. I might fail to save a patient, and then they'd find me in the Underworld and never leave me alone. Summoning spirits would be a nightmare.

But I digress. Working with my boyfriend… well, I can't say I hate the idea…

Anyway, I got the clothes (a camp t-shirt and jeans) and the blankets. I brought them to Will, and he immediately put the blankets on the girl. He gently removed her old clothes and slipped the new ones on. (It didn't get weird or pervy, I promise.)

"Maybe I should call Hestia here," I said. "Or, at least, bring this girl to her fire."

Will looked thoughtful. "Only if we need to. I don't want to disturb a goddess."

"Don't worry, Hestia's pretty easy-going," I said. "And much nicer than other gods. She won't mind." Hestia is my personal favourite Olympian (sorry Dad). She's really nice, and was one of the only people who wouldn't flinch when I was around or act as if I had some contagious disease. She's almost like… a friend. An Aunt and a friend. And she enjoys talking to me too. I was, after all, one of the only few who had talked to her in a long time...

"Then go! Get her." Will said. I nodded and ran off to find the goddess, who was sitting by the hearth as usual, tending to the flames. I told her about the scenario. Just like I expected, she was willing to help. She and I stood before the girl.

"I have not seen such beauty in millenia..." Hestia commented, quietly. She paused. She almost seemed… sad. Like she was thinking about something. Then she provided a warm flame for the girl.

"She will wake soon," Hestia said, looking at us. "And when she does… well, do take good care of her."

"Of course, my lady." Will bowed. I simply smiled at Hestia. Unlike other gods and goddesses, you don't have to call her 'Lady Hestia' or anything like that. She doesn't mind. Hestia smiled back at me. It looked like she was about to say something else for a moment, but then simply left. I had a feeling she wasn't telling us something, but I decided not to press.

"Well," Will turned to me. "She's looking better already." He made a face. "How did you find her, anyway? It's not like you to be up at this time of the morning."

"... I had a dream," I said. "I saw her lying in the end of the street, in some snow."

Will looked thoughtful. "Hmm… I think the Fates intervened somewhere…" He looked at me, serious. "Just a hunch, but she might be part of something big."

"Wonderful," I groaned sarcastically. "As if we haven't had enough of prophecies."

Will smiled at me reassuringly. "Nothing the Ghost King can't handle, right?"

"Sure." I said, not with a lot of confidence. I stared at the girl for a bit, curiously. Will squeezed my hand and kissed me on the cheek.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go get some breakfast."

Sometimes I think I have the best boyfriend in the world.


	2. The prophecy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favourites! Hope you guys like this chapter. :3

"Stand still," Will was holding onto my bow. And my hands, which made me blush. "Now… aim."

I released the arrow in my bow. It reached the edge of the target.

"Well," Will sighed. "At least you're actually on the target now."

"Cut me some slack," I crossed my arms. "I can't be any worse than Percy Jackson."

Will laughed. "That's true. No matter how much he tries, your cousin really isn't built for archery."

I nodded in agreement.

Will looked over his shoulder, noticing another child struggling with her bow and arrow. She shot an arrow into the sky, which almost impaled a satyr eating tin cans.

Will grimaced.

"I gotta go and help that kid out before she accidentally kills someone," he sighed, facing me. "I'll catch up with you later."

"'No worries." I said. Will was counsellor of the Apollo cabin. He did have a lot of responsibilities. So do I, but since I'm literally the only member in my cabin, not as much. Hazel visits sometimes, but that's about it.

I left the archery area. Maybe I could help some demigods practice sword-fighting. I did that if I was in a good mood. That or rescuing demigods. The satyrs can't do it all by themselves. Although I'm not the best at welcoming new campers. I tend to accidentally scare them off.

I began to wonder how that girl I rescued was doing. Think of the devil, as they say, and I saw her checking out the arena with Chiron. Yep, she was walking and talking. People were giving her wide-eyed glances. Even Chiron himself seemed a little anxious.

The girl was wearing the orange camp shirt, which was a few sizes too big (whoops, my bad), so it looked like she was wearing an orange poncho. Her pants weren't oversized, at least. Her hair was pulled back with a headband, and she was still wearing that scarf. She looked healthy, which was a relief since she was almost dead a few hours ago. She was gazing curiously up at the centaur.

I walked over to them. Chiron was explaining what people did in the arena to the girl. He smiled when he saw me.

"Ah, hello, Nico," He said. "I was waiting to introduce you to this young one."

The girl smiled shyly. She was even more beautiful awake. Her eyes were like blue sapphires, and trust me, I know what sapphires look like. Her face was brighter now, and she was practically glowing. I was almost at a loss for words. I shook myself out of it. She was probably ten or something.

"Hey," I held out my hand. "I'm Nico di Angelo."

The girl hesitated. She seemed nervous. I understood why. I wouldn't call myself the most hospitable demigod. Though, still, it tugged at my heart. Everyone had to be scared of me.

She shook my hand. "I'm… Isabella. Isabella Johnson."

"Nico here was the one that found you," Chiron said. "And brought you to camp."

Isabella stared at me with awe. "Wow… t… thank you…"

"No problem, kid," I said. "My boyfriend and Hestia did most of the healing, though."

"You mean that girl and the blonde guy?" Isabella asked. I nodded. "Coooool." She made a face. "Wait, was Hestia a… goddess?"

"Indeed," Chiron answered. "Do you know what she is the goddess of?"

"Goddess of the Hearth?" Isabella asked.

Chiron smiled. "Very good!" He turned to me. "I am teaching Isabella basic knowledge of mythology. It seems she doesn't know quite a lot."

Isabella blushed.

I nodded. "Good luck, then. There's a lot to remember." I turned to Chiron. "Has she been claimed yet?"

"Not yet, but I have my suspicions of who her godly parent could be." Chiron said.

"Aphrodite?" I asked.

"Well, it is the most obvious choice." Chiron smiled down at Isabella. She looked up curiously.

"That means she'd be Piper's little sister," I said. "No problems there. As long as she doesn't become like Drew Tanaka."

"Mr. di Angelo." Chiron scolded, crossing his arms.

I shrugged. "Sorry. Drew's not a favourite camper of mine."

Chiron sighed. "Come along, Isabella. We have a tour to continue."

As usual, I sat at the Apollo table for lunch. Don't worry, I had a doctor's note. Sitting by myself at the Hades table usually causes quite a few problems with the undead, such as zombies randomly spawning, and campers running and around and screaming. It pretty much takes the entire lunch hour to sort it all out. And then I get hungry, and I'm not a happy camper when I'm hungry. So I sit at the Apollo table with my boyfriend. I stick out like a sore thumb compared to the others, but Will's siblings are slowly getting used to me. I think. Hey, they may or may not be my siblings in law in the future.

Isabella was sitting at the Hermes table, the place where all the unclaimed demigods go. I'd sat there myself a few years ago. I noticed the others were kind of sitting away from her, as well as giving her very odd glances. She didn't seem too thrilled about it. I felt empathetic. I knew what that felt like. It hurt.

"You better be eating some vegetables, Nico," Will looked at me. "You can't just live off burgers and fries and Gatorade."

"Now you sound like my aunt." I groaned.

Will frowned. "It's good for you. As your doctor, I order you to eat some vegetables."

I held up a fried potato. "Look, here's a vegetable." I took a small bite out of it. "Happy now, doc?"

Will sighed. "You're hopeless, Death Breath."

"Mr. Shiny."

"Zombie Boy."

"Doctor Overprotective."

"Corpse Face."

"Sunshine H-"

"Alright, we get it, move on!" Kayla, Will's half-sister, groaned.

Will and I just smirked at each other.

Later on I was giving a tour to yet another new camper (I was in a good mood) when I noticed something happening at the Aphrodite cabin. I saw Isabella there, as well as few of the Aphrodite campers. And Drew Tanaka. Sigh.

Isabella didn't really look like she was having a good time. The campers were all glaring at her accusingly. No idea why. Isabella was backing away slowly. I bit my lip, tensing up.

"Mr Nico?" the new camper tugged my jacket. "Are you there?"

I wiped my eyes and stared back at the kid. "Yeah. Just got distracted. That's all."

I glanced at the cabin one more time, before walking off. I resisted the urge to summon any zombies. It wouldn't make me look great in front of the new kid.

I'll just skip over the rest of the day, since it wasn't too eventful (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). After dinner, we went to the Amphitheatre for our evening dose of singing and toasted marshmallows. I don't really sing and dance around, I just prefer to watch. And toast marshmallows. Will is the one that does all the singing and dancing. People also tend to get claimed a lot there. And then we have to bow 9969566597590759730 times.

The singing was starting to get kind of annoying, as it usually does, and that's when I noticed Isabella wasn't there. I frowned, and my curiosity overtook me. I crept away from the fire, which wasn't too hard. That singing is really loud sometimes. I slunk around the camp, looking for the girl. I almost had a feeling of where she was. I used to exclude myself from the fire and hide when I was younger. I never felt like I belonged. Don't worry, it's gotten better thanks to my friends.

Sure enough, I found Isabella sitting by herself, nearby the strawberry fields. She had a sad look on her face. She was fiddling with her scarf.

"I used to do the same thing," I said, appearing out of the shadows. Isabella jumped five feet in the air. Usually happens when people meet me. "Except I'd go a little further out, more towards the beach."

"Y… you…" Isabella blushed. "Shouldn't you be… at the campfire thingy?"

"Shouldn't you?" I asked. Isabella looked away, embarrassed. I sat down nearby her. I usually do this with all outcast campers. If there's a kid looking sad and lonely and sitting by themself, I'll go and talk to them. If they want to be alone, they'll tell me. But they seem to appreciate it most of the time. It's the least I can do. I don't want anyone else to feel the same way I did.

Yeah, I'm no people person. My boyfriend tells me this a lot. But I can relate to loners. Considering I kind of was (am) one.

"I… I guess," Isabella said. "It's just…" She looked away. "Everyone is… nice, I guess… not as mean as… people I know, but still… they're weirded out by my beauty and stuff. I… I hate being pretty…" She sniffled. "Everyone hates me."

"Outcast just because of the way you are?" I sighed. "I know what that feels like, kid. That happened to me once everyone knew my godly parent. I was an outcast. I felt like I didn't belong anywhere. It took years for me to finally fit in." I gave her a small smile. "One day, Isabella, you'll find your place. You'll find your niche. It may take days, weeks, years, of suffering and heartache, but you will find your place, somewhere. I learnt that the hard way. Don't give up on the world, no matter how much it sucks."

I was seriously spending too much time around Doctor Solace, who was also my therapist. As well as my friends.

Isabella looked like she wanted to reply, but suddenly, we were interrupted by a lot of very passionate yelling from the Amphitheatre. I could see the flame from where I was sitting; it was much brighter than normal.

"What the Hades?" I grumbled. "What's going on over there?" I stood up. I turned back to Isabella.

"You'd better come," I said. "It might be something important."

Isabella nodded and followed me as we ran off. We arrived shortly at the Amphitheatre, where everyone was screaming at the resident oracle, Rachel Dare. She was holding her head down, her hands twitching. Her red hair was blowing in the faint breeze.

"What in Gaea's name is going on?!" I demanded.

Rachel turned around and stared at me. I took a step back. Her eyes were glowing green, and green, soupy mist was pouring out of her mouth. She pointed at Isabella, who yelped and hid behind me.

"The child of the soul,

A destiny so cold.

A journey she must make,

A heart she must break.

The son of Hades protects her fate,

Yet in the end she cannot truly escape.

A hero's blessing she must earn,

Or evil consumes and Mount Othrys burns."

No one spoke. Rachel returned to her normal self, shaking her head. I bit my lip. I'm not a fan of prophecies, that's for sure.

"Mount Othrys?!" I asked. "But isn't that place...?"

Chiron bowed his head. "Not yet... it appears... it is making a final comeback."

"W-what?" I asked.

"Nico," Chiron turned to me. "I believe you know what this means."

"I..." I looked down. I sighed. "I have to go on a quest."

Chiron nodded. "The fate of evil depends on you."


	3. I hate early mornings

I hate prophecies that involve getting your heart broken. It's happened to me before, and I was not looking forward to it happening again.

But I didn't have much of a choice. I had to take Isabella Johnson to Mount Othrys or evil would be unleashed. Because apparently, that stupid mountain was making a comeback. And I couldn't just shadow travel there, Isabella needed the 'blessing of a hero'. Which, in other words, meant a hero actually had to journey with her and everything. And that hero had to be me, unfortunately.

Chiron said that the gods had been waiting for someone like Isabella for a while. With her, the evil of Mt. Othrys (or Mount Tamalpais, whatever's your fancy) would be banished. Supposedly. I thought it had already been banished, but apparently not. The Romans just weren't enough to contain it. Admittedly, though, I had got a lot of bad feelings when I went into the mortal world. A lot more monsters were around. I had to start saving mortals as well as demigods.

Isabella's godly parent was still a mystery. She hadn't been claimed. Whatever. This prophecy was stupid and I was not looking forward to this quest. I was not a babysitter. Sure, Isabella was a nice kid and all, but chaperoning her for a while with no help? Different story.

Oh, and I had to protect her from every monster that tried to kill her as well. She needed to be alive for the prophecy. Did I mention there were a ton more monsters around than usual? As you can probably tell I could hardly wait.

Neither could anyone else, apparently. They seemed even more wary of me than usual, and kept giving Isabella and I weird glances. A bit annoying when you want to drink your soda in peace. My boyfriend, and a few others, were the same as usual, I guess. But I still couldn't get the weight off my chest.

In the end I just sat at my old spot at the beach. I was sick of people.

Isabella sat next to me. There was some silence as I drank my soda. She didn't seem uncomfortable or anything. That was certainly new.

"Most of people are scared of me, y'know," I said.

"Most people are scared of me too," Isabella replied, gazing into the distance. "Or they want to use me."

"Some people are very stupid," I replied. That was true too. A lot of pretty bad people exist. That's what the Fields of Punishment are for.

There was another pause. I decided to attempt being 'social' again. "So... nervous about the quest?"

"Maybe," Isabella said. "I don't even know what a quest is."

"Yeah, you got a quest straight off the bat," I agreed. "That doesn't happen often."

Isabella sighed. "I don't even know... I just... why me?"

"Trust me, kid, I ask myself the same question every day," I said. "There's more honour in death than life, that's one thing."

Isabella didn't reply to that. She just combed the sand through her fingers. I had a feeling I might've said something wrong. Oops.

"Well, if it makes you feel better," I said, "this is technically my first quest too."

Isabella looked surprised. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yep. So this'll be... interesting."

Interesting is only one of the many words you can use to describe a quest. Especially one like this.

The quest started with my boyfriend waking me up really early in the morning.

"Rise and shine, princess!" he cheered, shaking my blanket. "Guess who's going on a deadly quest today?"

"Get lost." I groaned, rolling over.

"Come on Nico, you can't be late!" Will said. "It's a quest! I need to help you get ready!"

"It's barely light, Will!" I whined. "Five more minutes?"

"Nope," Will said sternly. "Get up, Death Boy."

Will managed to drag me out of bed and help me pack my bag. We put fresh clothes, Ambrosia and Nectar, 5 bottles of Gatorade, mortal money, some drachmas, a bottle of water, a map, and some granola bars and sandwiches into the bag. Isabella met with us outside the Big House, wearing similar clothes as she was wearing the first time I saw her. She was nervously tugging at the scarf around her neck. Some campers that had gotten up early were staring at her with awe. She didn't look tired. At least someone had a good sleep, I guess.

I yawned sleepily, as Chiron approached us.

"Argus will drive you to the nearest train station, and you will catch a train out to DC." Chiron explained.

I nodded. "Got it."

"There, it is your responsibility to take this young one to Mount Tamalpais." Chiron said.

"Babysitting," I sighed. "Wonderful. I'm hyped."

"I have faith in you, son of Hades," Chiron said, kindly. "You, so far, have shown the greatest connection to young Isabella. I believe you of all people will be able to protect her for the duration of the quest."

I sighed.

Will came over to me, arms crossed. "Look after yourself, Nico. Don't pull any all-nighters. You need your sleep."

"Sure, Ma." I grunted.

Will gave me a hug. "Stay safe, Nico. Seriously. Don't get yourself hurt! And make sure you IM me at least twice a day!"

"Yep…" I said, slowly hugging Will back. Will then looked down at Isabella.

"Make sure he eats and sleeps," he said. "If he doesn't, IM me and I'll tell him off."

"I can hear you, you know." I grumbled.

Will just laughed. Isabella giggled as well. I rolled my eyes.

Will gave me a kiss on the cheek and clapped Isabella's shoulder, before walking off. I sighed and turned to Isabella.

"Ready, kid?" I asked.

"No…" she admitted.

"Me neither." I sighed.

We climbed into Argus' van anyway. I pulled down the window to talk to Chiron.

"One more thing," I said. A lump built in my throat. I suddenly realised how nervous I was. "If Hazel, Percy, or anyone else stops by… tell them that I'm thankful… thankful they're my friends."

Chiron nodded respectfully. I sighed, putting the window back up. As the van drove off, I just stared at the chair in front of me. I hoped this wouldn't be the last quest I'd ever go on. I wasn't ready to be a permanent resident of my dad's realm just yet.

"I'm sorry…" Isabella apologized, after some silence. "You obviously don't wanna be here."

I frowned. "Well, no, not really. I'd rather be in my cabin, sleeping."

"No," Isabella said. "You don't like babysitting."

"Is it that obvious?" I sighed. "I'm not a kid person. Sure I help out demigods from time to time, but chaperoning for a whole quest? Different story."

"And I'm dangerous," Isabella said. "Because of me, a lot of monsters will come and you might get really hurt." She looked away. "And mortals too."

I sighed. "This is a quest. You have to do what you have to."

There was silence for a bit. I stared out of the window, looking at all the boring fields and people and other stuff. They made me think of my crazy step-mom, Persephone, and her even crazier mother, Demeter. If she were here she'd be lecturing me about cereal or plants or whatever. And Persephone would probably turn me into a flower again. My family is just wonderful.

Suddenly, Isabella brightened up and turned to me. "Hey, can I get a white hot chocolate from Starbucks? Then can we go to the mall?"

I was surprised by happy she suddenly became. I blinked and shook my head.

"Kid, we have a quest to go on," I said.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't stop somewhere!" Isabella said brightly.

"Starbucks is way too expensive," I argued. "It's like, five bucks for a drop of coffee. And we don't have unlimited cash."

"Aww, but white hot chocolates are the best!" Isabella sighed. "They have cream on them and everything!"

"Can't we go to McDonald's?" I asked. "It's way cheaper and quicker. Plus, I use their food to summon the dead."

Isabella just stared at me.

"You can summon the dead?" she asked, in awe.

"Yep," I replied. "Son of Hades perk."

"I forgot who Hades is…" Isabella looked embarrassed. I sighed. This was going to be a long quest.


	4. Starbucks is overpriced

We went to Starbucks.

First thing's first, it's expensive, and we were on a budget. Seriously, five bucks for a small coffee! I miss McDonald's. It's faster, quicker, and the staff don't scream out your name when it's time to collect your drink. I don't know, something about strangers screaming 'NICO' across the cafe bothers me…

On the flipside, my coffee wasn't awful. It was strong enough to wake me up, for the meantime. (Don't tell my boyfriend I was drinking non-decaf coffee.) And besides, Isabella seemed to enjoy her white hot chocolate. She even let me have a sip of it, and I got myself on a bit of a sugar high. I was pretty sure my boyfriend would never let me hear the end of it if he knew I had such a drink. So don't tell him.

Anyway, we were sort of chilling out and relaxing, enjoying our expensive beverages. I rubbed my forehead, trying to collect my thoughts together. Not always easy. I still had no idea who Isabella's godly parent was. It was getting annoying to have mortals gawking at us and I was resisting the urge to throw my expensive coffee at them. It wasn't going to be any better on the train. Mortals would be staring at us there too.

Isabella sighed. "I wish I was ugly… then maybe, things would be easier."

"Things are always hard for demigods," I said. "Life's not fair that way."

"Yeah, but, at least people wouldn't be staring at me all the time," Isabella replied. She frowned. "Dad had to get a security system and completely lock up the house to keep predators out. He even hired a bodyguard at one point." Her voice croaked when she said 'Dad'. I had a feeling that was a sensitive subject, which I understood pretty well.

I raised my brow. "Seriously?"

"Yeah," Isabella pouted. "School was… awful. A lot of people tried to attack me… monsters, I guess, and no one really wanted to talk to me. The teachers wouldn't let me be alone, though." She looked away. "Dad eventually started homeschooling me."

I gave her a sympathetic nod. "We've all had it rough, kid. Like I said, life's not fair. But that doesn't mean it can't get better. You're better off trying to improve than doing nothing at all, trust me."

Isabella smiled a bit, but then started frowning again. There was an awkward silence between us.

"So, uh…" I attempted to start a conversation, which isn't really a strength of mine. "I found you in a pile of snow at the end of a street… how did you end up there?"

Isabella was about to answer, but she got distracted by something.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Huh?" I asked. I followed her gaze, which was directed at the window. Two girls were standing there, ogling me. They waved cheerfully at me, holding pom poms and clothing that wasn't very, well, kid-friendly.

"You have… fangirls?" Isabella asked, almost laughing.

I narrowed my eyes. "We should go." I stood up abruptly. I had a bad feeling about these girls.

"Aww, but I didn't finish my drink…" Isabella sighed. I walked off speedily, avoiding the glances of mortals. "Wait up!"

Isabella and I slunk out of the cafe. I looked around, staring at all the street names (which weren't that fun to read, thanks dyslexia) and paths. I speed-walked towards the path to the train station, Isabella on my heels. I didn't want to waste energy fighting in case we needed to shadow travel, so I figured it was best to blend in with a large crowd of mortals and hopefully the monsters wouldn't be able to find us.

Unfortunately, this didn't work.

The girls rushed in front of us, giving us huge, lipstick-covered grins. Isabella hid behind me.

"Hey, cutie," one of the girls said. She had long, dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing so much makeup she could've put the Aphrodite cabin to shame. Well, almost. It would take a lot to out-do the Aphrodite cabin.

I could tell there was no way we could get around these ladies, so I sighed. We were going to have to fight.

I was pretty sure they were monsters, but on the very, very slim chance they could be crazy mortals, I didn't draw my weapon just yet.

"I'm gay," I snapped. "And I have a boyfriend, so get lost."

"Aw, honey, don't be that way," one of the other psychos said. She had curly blonde hair, kind of like Annabeth, but she didn't have Annabeth's grey eyes or overall intelligence. Her green eyes glimmered. She reached out a nail-covered hand, clutching my chin. I didn't care if she was mortal or not, I slapped her arm away.

"I said get lost." I repeated.

"Aww, honey," the first girl giggled. "But you have something that we want."

They both eyed Isabella hungrily. She borrowed her face in my jacket.

"Not a chance," I said. I held up my sword. "We have a train to catch. I won't hurt you if you get out of my way."

The girls laughed like that was the funniest thing they'd heard all day. They began to change form, and they weren't so pretty anymore. They turned into these hideous creatures with pale skin, flaming hair, red eyes and sharp fangs. They each had a donkey leg and a bronze leg. I backed up, and Isabella continued to whimper into my jacket.

Empousai.

"You will not succeed, son of Hades," the creatures hissed. They flew towards me, holding out their claws.

I held up my sword. "Stay back, Isabella."

One of the Empousai almost scratched my face. I luckily dodged her attack, and slammed my sword into her side. She yelped, falling over. The other Empousa screeched and came from above, kind of like the Furies do to me sometimes. (Long story.) I summoned two undead warriors, which kept the Empousa occupied for a little while. The other Empousa was approaching Isabella. Isabella was covering her face, and stepping back.

"Oh no you don't." I growled. I raced towards them. I made the ground disappear under the Empousa's feet. She screamed and flailed about, falling into the darkness. Gods, that sounds dark. Well, that's what I'm all about, I guess. I felt a wave of nausea. I shook it off, turning back to Isabella. She was staring at me with wide eyes.

"That," she breathed in. "Was AWESOME!"

I just weakly smiled in response. Smiling too much hurt my face muscles. The other Empousa had been weakened by my army, so it was easier to take her out. Once I did, I took a breath of relief.

"Come on," I looked at Isabella. "We better go. We don't wanna miss the train."

"My lord." one of the soldiers walked up to me. "More monsters are approaching."

It was right. In the distance, I could see more Empousa coming towards me. I almost dropped my sword. Seriously?

"Delay them," I told my soldiers. "We're not missing that train." And I did not want to waste more energy.

I grabbed Isabella's arm and raced towards the train station. Unfortunately, it was the huge and busy one: Grand Central Station. I clenched the money in my pocket, hoping it would be enough to buy some tickets. We were headed to DC, which was our checkpoint, essentially. Though, knowing the life of demigods, it could get hectic pretty quickly. If we really needed to, we had my zombie chauffeur, but I didn't want to use him unless I had to. He wouldn't be as fast as the train.

I shoved my way past the crowds of mortals, apologising as quickly as I could. Usually I wouldn't be so rough, but in case you didn't notice, we had a schedule. I kept my grip on Isabella's arm, as we made our way to the train. (I hate physical contact, by the way, so that wasn't making me feel any better.)

I managed to hastily buy train tickets, while bouncing up and down on my toes. I guess the sugar high I'd got from the white hot chocolate had made a comeback. I sighed in relief when the attendee gave us our tickets. We might just make it!

And then the Empousai returned.

"Fool!" they cackled, running towards me. I scrambled out of the way, still grabbing onto Isabella's arm. I inched towards the train. With my other arm, I held out my sword. Having two arms has it advantages.

The Empousa launched towards me. I swung my sword, shooing it away. I got closer and closer to the train. Then another Empousa came from the side, forcing me down onto my back. I glowered.

"We are not missing that train." I growled. I stabbed the Empousa in the chest, disintegrating it. I grabbed Isabella's arm, and raced towards the train. The other Empousa came from the side, but this time, I saw it, and stabbed it before it could cause anymore trouble. I wiped my brow. My hand was sweaty and my arms ached. I turned to the train, but…

It was moving away.

I growled.

"Fates be damned," I sighed. I grabbed onto Isabella's shoulder for one last time. "Sorry, kid."

And I shadow-travelled us onto the train.


	5. I kill an old enemy

I used to like trains. They were mostly pleasant (aside from certain monsters… and mortals), quiet, relaxing… well, if there weren't many people on the train, that is. I don't enjoy being cramped against complete strangers.

My late sister, Bianca, knew the train timetables like the back of her hand. I never paid attention to anything like that. Too obsessed with Mythomagic and pirates. I regretted it now. Why? Because we'd got onto the wrong train. I didn't even realise until Isabella pointed out that we were heading towards Massachusetts instead of Washington. I was so annoyed that when we got off on the next station, a crowd of zombies was there waiting for me, groaning and waving fans in my face. I'm not kidding.

So we had to go back to that stupid Central Station, and catch the right stupid train to the right stupid city. I was cursing the whole way. I got even grumpier when monsters approached. Well, at least no mortals bothered us. Mostly.

Eventually, good news, we did get on the right train. Isabella sighed as I glared out the window. I tried to control my temper. I didn't need zombies spawning everywhere and harassing random mortals. Isabella was respectful, at least. She didn't pester me with any questions or annoy me any further.

I started to get a bit tired, but there was no way I was sleeping right now. We had a full day ahead of us.

"You're tired." Isabella said, looking at the ground.

"No I'm not," I grunted, not really in the mood to be scolded by a sassy intimidatingly beautiful 10 year old.

"Yeah, you are," she said. "Using your powers made you tired. You should sleep."

"I swear, you're just like my boyfriend." I sighed.

Isabella blushed. She made her voice sound assertive, kind of like Will's. "You should also not eat any junk food. Don't do Underworld-y stuff. Sleeeeeeeppp!"

I rolled my eyes. "That's him, alright."

"Are you gonna get married to him?" Isabella asked, with a smirk.

"Married?" I sat up. "Kid, I'm 14! Will's 15!"

"You're 14…?" Isabella asked. "I thought you were at least 19!"

"A lot of people say that." I shrugged. Though, chronologically, I'm around 84. Not really that surprising I act older sometimes.

"You have a lot of darkness in your soul for someone who's 14," she said, her tone suddenly serious. "I don't think I've ever met anyone who carries so much pain. Not even my dad."

I felt myself stiff up. That really hit me out of nowhere. Was Isabella that perceptive? I frowned, clenching my fists. I didn't like talking about my past. I didn't like the fact that Isabella somehow knew about the 'darkness in my soul'. It almost felt like an invasion of privacy.

"How do you know that?" I asked bitterly. "I never gave you access to my emotions."

"I… I dunno…" she said. "I just… knew. I've always been able to tell how people are feeling."

"You're psychic?" I asked.

"I really don't know…" Isabella shook her head. "It's just… compared to a lot of other people back at camp, you stuck out like a sore thumb. I could sense your pain from a mile away."

I furrowed my brow. "And you didn't mention this before, because…?"

"I didn't think you'd like it." Isabella admitted.

I gritted my teeth. I imagined the ground outside would've been trembling.

"You're right about that," I growled. Isabella stepped away from me, fear in her eyes. Even the mortals looked freaked out. I sighed. I took a deep breath, and tried to calm down. It was not time to get angry.

"It's just… all that stuff is really personal," I said. "I barely know you, and you're discovering all my feelings."

"I know," Isabella sighed. She looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I won't bother you with it, I promise, Nico. I don't wanna hurt you." She muttered, "This is why everyone hates me."

I had to sigh. "Thanks." I sat down, staring at my fingers. Isabella tentatively sat next to me. There was a pause.

"I don't hate you, by the way." I finally said.

Isabella smiled. "Well… I think you're really smart. And nice. And scary. But in a good way."

"Thanks?" I said, the corner of my lip twitching. "Good to know I'm scary in a 'good way'."

Isabella laughed. "And... kinda funny, too."

Suddenly, some mortal came up to us. He was looking at Isabella in a weird way. He then reached out and grabbed her arm, grinning darkly. Anger rushed through me like fire.

"Let her go or you will answer to me." I growled in the same voice I used to command the dead, as well as giving the mortal a glare worthy of my dad. The guy immediately let go and ran away.

"Thanks..." Isabella said. A tear rolled down her cheek. I awkwardly patted her shoulder.

"I'm scary in a good way." I faintly smiled. Isabella laughed, and leaned back. I glared at the mortals staring at her, daring at them to try anything. They all looked away. Turns out I'm a pretty good bodyguard. Or maybe just good at scaring people off.

"Well, um, wanna play a game while we wait to get to Washington?" Isabella asked. "I'm kinda bored."

I bit my lip. "Alright. What else can we do. What game?"

"I spy." Isabella replied, eyes shining.

I sighed. That game was pretty basic. "Fine. You can go first."

"Okay," Isabella looked cheerful. She gazed around the carriage. "I spy, with my little eye… something beginning with… m."

"Hmm…" I looked around the carriage. Not a lot of things started with m. "Um… money?"

Isabella shook her head.

"Mother?" I asked, pointing to the end of the carriage, where a woman was holding a baby.

Isabella shook her head once again.

I frowned. "Uh…" I kept looking. And then I saw something alarming. "Monster!"

"Nope." Isabella said. Then her eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

I grabbed Isabella and pulled her under the train seat, narrowly avoiding a handful of poison spikes.

"Son of Hades!" a voice screamed. "Give me the girl or I'll have your head!"

I recognised that voice. I clenched my fists.

"Dr. Thorn." I growled, climbing out from under the chair.

"So we meet again, Niccoló di Angelo!" the manticore chuckled, looking just as ugly as he had four years ago. "You thought I was gone forever? You insolent fool! I am only the beginning of what is to come!" He raised his tail, glaring hungrily at Isabella and myself. "Now you will die!"

"Isabella, stay under that chair." I told my young friend. I leaped out of the way of a poison blast, and unsheathed my sword.

"Even you cannot stop the prophecy, Ghost King!" Dr. Thorn chuckled. "We will rise once again, and I will feed on the flesh of you and your beloved demigod friends!"

I shadow-travelled behind the manticore, attacking him from the back. He roared as he was flung to the ground. He quickly got up, and charged towards me. He whipped his tail at me, which I swung at with my sword. I got slammed into the ground. My back ached. I thought the manticore would go after me, but instead, he turned to Isabella. She backed away with fear.

"Touch her and that will be the last thing you do." I growled in my most threatening voice at the manticore, gripping my sword tightly. I couldn't really summon the dead too well, since we were on a moving train. That got me thinking. If I wanted to beat this guy, I had to take him elsewhere…

"You think I am scared of you, son of Hades?" the manticore cackled. Isabella ran away from him, tightly clutching her scarf. I stormed over to Dr. Thorn, but he whacked me away again, and left a nasty, well, thorn in my side. I yelped out in pain, falling to my knees. I gritted my teeth. The best thing to do when you have a splinter or thorn in you, Will says, is to take it out. I forcibly pulled the thorn in my side out, and immediately put myself in pain about thirty times worse than before.

I looked back up at Isabella, trying to stand up despite the awful pain. Dr. Thorn was approaching her once again. And just as I thought she was doomed, her scarf suddenly glowed… and transformed. It turned into a long, white whip, tipped with celestial bronze. I had a feeling the Furies would be jealous of it.

(And she may've been the first demigod I'd ever seen to use a whip...)

Isabella waved the whip around, and struck Dr. Thorn with it. He cried out, jumping into the air. I weakly stood up, the pain making me dizzy.

"Foolish girl!" Dr. Thorn boomed. "You cannot defeat me!"

He raced towards her again. Isabella may've had a weapon now, but she didn't really have any fighting skills. The idea resurfaced in my head. I scrambled around in my backpack, grabbing some ambrosia. I stuffed it in my mouth, hoping it would reduce the awful pain a little bit. I stood up, just managing to keep my balance.

"Hey," I growled. "You idiot manticore."

Dr. Thorn turned and glared at me. "Do not interrupt me, Niccoló."

"Don't call me Niccoló," I snapped. I walked over to the manticore, holding out my sword. "If you want the girl, you'll have to get through me first." I roared and slammed the manticore with my sword as hard as I physically could (which wasn't as hard as it could be since I was, y'know, poisoned).

"Come and get me, you fat lion!" I jeered, running away. Dr. Thorn didn't like being called a 'fat lion' and immediately chased after me. We ran through carriage after carriage. I may or may not have accidentally knocked over a few mortals and jumped over a pram. And I definitely did not steal some lady's brownies. Not at all.

Anyway, I made it to the end of the train. There was a locked door, where the captain was driving the train. I made sure the manticore knew I was there, before I shadow travelled inside. The captain almost passed out when I suddenly appeared in front of him.

I shot him an apologetic smile, just as the manticore broke the door down, roaring like a, well, lion.

"DEATH TO YOU, SON OF HADES!" he screamed. I shadow travelled to the roof of the train, waving my sword in front of the window so the fat lion would come after me. I ran across the roof, narrowly avoiding getting hit in the face by a tree. I heard a crash of glass, and sure enough, Dr. Thorn was now on the roof.

"I WILL EAT YOUR FLESH!" he boomed. He bounded after me. I kept stepping back, jumping over gaps between the carriages. It was slightly daunting running across the top of a train. There was a high risk of falling off. But, up here, Dr. Thorn couldn't hurt Isabella or any mortals, and it would be easier to get rid of him.

I held out my sword as the manticore came closer. I gave him a harsh glare, gritting my teeth. I stepped back a little further and swung my sword as he came close. He roared out.

"YOU WILL BURN IN THE FLAMES OF TARTARUS!" he screamed.

"Been there, done that," I muttered. The manticore swung his tail at me again; I dodged it, albeit narrowly. I stumbled for a second. Dr. Thorn then suddenly jumped towards me. He grabbed my neck in his claws, squeezing my throat. It wasn't doing my lungs any favours.

"Enough of this!" He roared right in my face, because no, being strangled wasn't good enough, I had to go deaf as well. "You will DIE NOW!"

He stuck another thorn in my side. Well, it was my shoulder, actually. I couldn't even scream since my voice was gone. But the pain was enough to get a croak out of me. My vision went blurry and I wanted to vomit. Dr. Thorn gave me a dark smile, and then threw me overboard. I slammed head-first into a tree. I slid to the ground, my head aching. I felt the back of my head, and felt traces of blood. I coughed up some blood as well, my shoulder still aching in pain. There was no way I could stand.

When my eyes finally fluttered open, the train was disappearing into the distance. I held out a weak hand, then pulled it back. I gritted my teeth, my breathing shaky. Everything hurt. I wanted to lie down and die.

And then I remembered Will, Isabella, Hazel, Reyna, and so many other people. As well as this stupid quest. And I knew it wasn't over, not yet anyway.

I forced myself to sit up. I took my jacket off and pulled the thorn out of my shoulder. I dug through my backpack, and nibbled on some ambrosia and had a swig of nectar. I cut off my sleeve next, and wrapped it around the wound in my shoulder. I tied my jacket around my waist, and grabbed my sword. The pain was still there, but it wasn't as bad. I weakly stood up, and glared at the distance. Now that I could focus more on, well, thinking, I was suddenly feeling very angry. Dr. Thorn was going to get it.

I ran into the closest shadow, holding up my sword. I appeared back on the train, scaring the living daylight out of some mortals. I could see (and hear) Dr. Thorn ahead, screaming death threats and other stupid stuff. I snuck through crowds of disturbed mortals, glaring dangerously at the manticore. Even the mortals knew I meant business and moved out of my way. Most of the time I try not to act too scary around mortals; I try to avoid them, or keep them out of danger. When mortals get involved in demigod issues it gets really messy.

Today I didn't have much of a choice. I got close enough to the manticore, and stayed quiet and still, which us children of Hades are generally good at. I saw Isabella with her scarf-whip, holding it in front of her. Dr. Thorn leaped towards her; she narrowly dodged him. I waited until his back was facing me. Then, brandishing my sword, I shadow-travelled behind him, and (look away squeamish people) stabbed him in the back. Literally.

The manticore yelled so many curse words at me I could make a dictionary out of them as he turned to dust. I wiped the dust off my jacket, stepping back. Isabella stood there, eyes wide.

"Wake me up when we get there." I said. And then I passed out.


	6. An alluring factory

I didn't really want to get up, but we didn't have much of a choice. Isabella woke me up, and we got off the train. As we walked through the Washington station, a lot of memories came flooding back to me. I bunched my shirt up in my fist. This wasn't really a great time to have childhood memories.

Isabella gave me a sad smile. "It's okay, Nico… you just have to stay strong. You know this place really well, don't you?"

I sighed. "You know everything, huh?" I slowed my pace a little bit, gazing at the exit to the station. It was a pretty big and busy station, and a nice aesthetic as well. Didn't compare to the Grand Central, but it was good. I was hoping we'd be able to take a lunch small break (and a calling-my-boyfriend break), then continue on this crazy mission. I knew a shortcut to a nice motel we could stay for the night, since travelling around at night time isn't a great idea, even for me. Plus, sleep sort of helped me recover. And my boyfriend would kill me if I didn't sleep.

Isabella shrugged innocently. "Wait… so, I bet you lived here, right?" I nodded. "Did you… ever go to the White House?"

I frowned. "To be honest, I don't really remember."

"Aww," Isabella looked down. Then up again. "Can we go to the White House?"

"Quests aren't about sightseeing, kid," I replied. "They're about doing some stupid, usually world-saving errand for the gods and the universe and trying not to die along the way."

"Oh," Isabella's face went blank. "Why do demigods have to do it? I mean, gods are all powerful, aren't they? They can't die, or… um, die… or…"

I suppressed a laugh. "The gods have restrictions. They can't really get involved in mortal affairs. They're also busy. They also can't go into any other god's territory without being invited. Unfortunately…" I sighed. "Us heroes can."

"Wow," Isabella stared at the ground. "That sucks."

"That's the life of demigods," I bit my lip. "Everything sucks."

"Nah," Isabella said. "Being too beautiful sucks. While you were sleeping on the train, some monsters… and mortals… tried to approach me." I gave her a stern look. "You were sleeping, Nico… I didn't want to wake you up."

"Are you okay, though?" I asked, kind of bitterly. "I'm not allowed to let you get killed. If I did it's game over, for both of us. And the world."

"I used my whip thingie on the monsters…" Isabella said. She blushed. "And I kicked the mortals in their rude areas."

I raised my brow. "I thought you couldn't fight."

"My dad showed me some moves." Isabella said, smirking.

"Ah," I nodded. "Cool." I gave her a small smile. "Well, use those moves when you can. It'll help you out."

Isabella gave me a thumbs up. Then she tilted her head. "Where are we going?"

"We're just having a lunch break," I said, patting the back of my head, which only had a small bump on it now. My clothes were still kind of tattered, though. "Calling my boyfriend. Getting some new clothes. And then we're going to a motel."

"Sounds… relaxing." Isabella commented.

"Trust me, when you're a demigod, nothing's relaxing." I sighed, shaking my head.

We went to McDonald's, of course. I wasn't going to waste my money on Starbucks all over again.

Isabella got a Happy Meal, while I just got a burger and some fries. And a soft drink. Stay healthy, kids.

We sat down near a fountain (which was active despite the cold) and had our healthy, fancy lunch.

"So," Isabella said, halfway through a chip. "Do you summon the dead a lot?"

"Sometimes," I replied, looking up from my burger. "Only when I need to talk to them. Or vice versa."

Isabella nodded. "And, um… is it hard?"

"Depends," I shrugged. "It's usually more annoying than hard. The dead tend to get on your last nerve."

"Oh…" Isabella said. She looked down at her french fries. "And… how do you summon them? With McDonald's, I mean."

"Well, firstly, I go to a cemetery, put the McDonald's in a gravestone, do a chant… hey…" I stared at my young friend. "Why are you so interested, anyway?"

"I, just, think it's really cool!" Isabella replied, smiling brightly. "To be able to summon the dead… it sounds cool."

"Really?" I asked, raising my brow. "Most people find it creepy."

"I'm not 'most people'." Isabella replied, winking.

I made a face. "Point to you, I guess." I glanced at my reflection in the water. I looked tired, sunken, and beat up. And it was only the first day.

"I bet the chants you say to the dead are weird." Isabella said.

"Nah," I replied. "They're just things like 'let the dead rise, let them eat again', stuff like that."

"Ohhhh," Isabella nodded. There was an odd glint in her eyes. "Nice!"

I raised my brow, and stood up. "Well, I've gotta change out of these clothes before I call my boyfriend, or he'll lecture me for three hours."

"To the bathrooms!" Isabella declared, punching the air. And that's where we went.

I hate public restrooms so I'll spare you the details. But basically, I got changed. I was wearing a Beatles shirt (that I may or may not have stolen from my boyfriend), a black hoodie, and dark grey jeans. And combat boots, of course. No demigod goes without combat boots.

"You wear a lot of black." Isabella told me.

"You wear a lot of grey." I retorted.

"If I wore any other colour, I'd draw more attention to myself…" Isabella smiled sadly. "I have to look so boring so… people will… ignore me."

I shrugged. "Understandable."

We went back to that fountain thing. Hopefully the Mist would cover up my Iris message. I pulled out a drachma.

"What are you doing?" Isabella asked.

"Sending an IM," I replied. "You'll see." I flicked the coin into the water. "Lady Iris, please accept my offering." I took a deep breath as a screen appeared before me. "Will Solace, Camp Half Blood."

The image of my boyfriend appeared there. He was sorting out arrows in his cabin.

"Hey." I said.

"Nico!" Will jumped. "Don't scare me like that!"

I shrugged. "Can't help it, sometimes."

Will rolled his eyes. "How's the quest going so far?"

"Same old same old," I replied. "A manticore almost broke my skull by throwing me off a train."

Will gasped. "Holy Apollo! Are you okay?! Did you eat Ambrosia and Nectar? Please tell me you rested."

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine now," I said. "Just a bump on my head."

Will breathed in. "Phew. Make sure you eat as well. Healthy food will give you energy. No McDonald's. You haven't had any McDonald's, have you?"

I winked at Isabella. "Of course not, Will. I wouldn't dream of it."

"I'm serious, Nico," Will folded his arms. "And don't go overboard with that Underworld-y stuff either!"

"Okay, okay," I waved my hands. "Calm down."

Will sighed, shaking his head. "Well, camp's okay, I guess. No new campers yet. Only a few minor injuries and burns from those climbing the lava wall." He paused, and made a sad face. "It's not the same in the infirmary when you're not here, you know…"

"I know," I replied, suddenly awkwardly. "I… I miss you."

"I miss you too," Will smiled at me with that radiant smile of his. "Finish this quest so you can join my team for Capture the Flag. You can help me try to get people not to be TOO violent…" He frowned.

I made a face. "I can't stop that totally, but I will try."

"Also," Will waved at Isabella. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," Isabella said. "Your boyfriend likes you very much. He thinks you're cute."

"Isabella!" I blushed bright red. Will blushed too, and laughed.

"Glad to hear it," he winked at me. I heard some yelling in the background, and heard him sigh. "That's Kayla. I gotta go, Nico. Stay as safe as you can." He waved his hand through the message, and his face disappeared.

I glared at Isabella. "You're a little minx."

Isabella just giggled. I sighed.

Isabella followed me as I made my way through the streets, glancing at my map every few seconds.

"So, this is… a shortcut?" she asked me.

"Yep," I nodded. We made our way through more streets, approaching a large factory. It loomed into the sky, bringing down large shadows. Which I wasn't complaining about. "Just a little further, and we'll be there."

We walked past the factory. I was kind of hugging myself, a chilly breeze blowing through my hair. I still did not like Winter. Oh well, at least it wasn't as snowy here.

"Um…" Isabella's voice had a weird tone in it. "I… kinda have a bad feeling about this."

"That's natural," I replied. "Just be on guard."

We were approaching the end of the factory. It didn't seem like any monsters were going to come out and attack us.

Yet.

Then Isabella stopped and stared at the factory.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"There's… something in there," she said. "I… I can feel it."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "It's a glass factory."

"I have to go in there," Isabella insisted. "Please, Nico. I have to."

I had a bad feeling about this.

"It's probably a trap," I said, folding my arms. "Monsters like messing with us. We shouldn't go in."

"No," Isabella turned away from me. "It's not a trap! There's no way. I can feel it. It's connecting to my soul. It can't be a trap."

"I don't like this," I said. "I-"

"We have to," Isabella insisted. "I have to."

"Isabella…" I frowned. "Please-"

Isabella ran towards the entrance of the factory.

"Hey!" I raced after her. "Come back!"

She ignored me, and kept running towards the entrance. The grey doors and walls loomed above, and I could hear the machinery groaning inside. The clouds swirling in the sky weren't a good omen. Especially when Isabella smashed the door open.

"Isabella!" I grumbled. I raced past obstacles, getting to the entrance. I hauled the door open, ignoring glass flying everywhere. I ran through the building, glancing nervously at the security cameras and machinery all around me. The lighting was scattered, and the ground was rumbling. The few mortals there weren't paying attention to me, strangely.

"Isabella?!" I called out. I stood in the middle of some conveyor belts, looking all around. She was nowhere to be seen.

And that's when I spotted an army of monsters. In the middle of them was Isabella.


	7. An old friend stops by

Isabella had a distant, spacy look on her face. She had her eyes glued on something. The monsters were grinning wickedly, closing in on her.

I clenched my fists. The ground beneath us trembled. The monsters looked around in confusion. Even Isabella briefly looked up.

I took a deep breath. I had to stay calm, for the sake of this rescue.

Isabella looked at her hands. Then she looked at all the monsters. Suddenly, she appeared frightened. Can't blame her. I'd feel the same.

"Wh… where did all of you come from?!" she asked, shaking. She reached for her scarf.

"Now, now, dear, no need to worry," a female voice said. It belonged to a fat, snake-like woman, wearing a blue dress. A name came to my head: Echidna, the mother of all monsters. (Not to be confused with the Australian native.) "We brought you here for a special reason."

I dug my nails into my skin. Of course it was a trap. I knew it. But Isabella didn't, of course.

"You… did?" Isabella asked.

"Indeed," Echidna gave her a smile. "We've all been waiting to see you for a long time. You are very special, dear."

I knew that look in Echidna's eyes. She was up to no good.

Isabella, still looking like she was in a trance, kept staring at the mother of all monsters.

"It's not just because I'm pretty… right?" she asked.

"Not at all," Echidna chuckled. "You're very powerful."

I snuck behind some factory structures, no clue what they're called, staying in the dark. I reached some stairs. As quietly as I could, I crawled up, getting closer to the roof. I was starting to form a plan. It wasn't the greatest plan, but I didn't have many options considering monsters were everywhere.

"So much more powerful than those Olympian fools will ever understand," Echidna continued. "They are the ones that only see you for your looks."

I got to the top of the stairs. Carefully, I walked across a wobbly platform. I wasn't moving too quickly, because being super noisy wasn't going to help me in anyway whatsoever.

"B-but Nico's not like that," Isabella replied. "He's really nice."

I froze up.

"He believes in me," Isabella said. "And he knows everything will get better. Because he's kind."

I felt… sentimental. I wasn't expecting to be complimented, and it made me feel… weird. In a good way. And then I felt like crying. I shook my head. I had to focus.

"How do you know that boy really cares for you?" Echidna asked. "He could be lying to you."

"He's not lying," Isabella said. She sounded confident. "He wouldn't lie."

The monsters all cackled. I suddenly felt angry. I glared at the middle of the room, and gripped my sword's handle.

"You clearly have no experience with demigods," Echidna said, acting sympathetic. "They can be cruel and unkind."

Isabella looked away.

"That Nico may care for you," Echidna hissed. "But no one else does."

And that's when I attacked.

I leaped off the platform, ninja-style. I raised my arms, summoning an army of the dead. The monsters roared out in surprise. I landed next to Isabella, my legs aching from the fall.

"Nico!" Isabella cried out.

"Don't trust monsters." I growled. I was about to grab her, but a force slammed me away. It belonged to Echidna.

"FOOLISH DEMIGOD!" she roared. "You will regret interrupting my plans!" She faced the monsters, who were battling the army of undead warriors. "Forget the deceased scum! Kill the boy!"

I got up. I had landed on my bad shoulder, which as you can guess, wasn't fun. I brandished my sword as a swarm of monsters raced towards me. The chances of me surviving suddenly decreased by 1000%. One demigod vs a whole army of monsters. Not good.

"Nico!" Isabella cried out again.

I slipped into the shadows, shadow-travelling away from all the monsters. I re-emerged nearby Isabella. I almost passed out. I made my way over to my young friend, and grabbed her arm. Then someone wrapped their hands around my throat and hoisted me into the air. The crazy mother of monsters.

"If they cannot kill you, then I will kill you myself!" Echidna cackled. "Perseus Jackson may have escaped me, but you won't, Niccoló di Angelo!"

I tried to breathe. That wasn't going too well.

"Nico!" Isabella pulled out her whip. "Let him go!"

"Now, now," Echidna stepped back. "How about this? I will let him go, scat-free, if you join us."

"What?" Isabella exclaimed.

"If not…" Echidna squeezed my neck. My vision went blurry. Everything hurt. "I will kill him."

Before Isabella could respond, an arrow landed in Echidna's head. The mother of monsters roared, abruptly letting me go. I, very professionally, landed on my butt.

"Curses!" she screamed, her body beginning to dissolve. Gold dust was everywhere. Isabella helped me stand up.

"Who…" I breathed out, looking for the person who shot the arrow. Isabella was pointing at someone, so I followed her gaze. My eyes widened.

"Thalia!" I cried out.

My punk cousin (I mean punk as in the style, though we all know Thalia is a punk in the other way too) was wielding a bow. Behind her were the Hunters, who were also wielding bows.

Thalia looked at me, and her eyebrows raised. While the other hunters focused on attacking the other monsters, she came over to Isabella and myself.

"What're you doing here?!" she yelled at me. She shared that ferocious look with her dad. "We knew there were monsters here, but…" She trailed off when she saw Isabella. "Who's this?"

"I'm Isabella Johnson," Isabella replied, casually. "I'm a demigod."

"Yeah," I said, standing up. "Long story. Maybe I'll tell it when we get out of here."

Thalia nodded. "Good idea." She glanced over me. "Good to see you, again, by the way."

I almost smiled. "You too, Pinecone Face."

Thalia snorted. "Death Breath."

"Lightning Head."

"Zombie Face."

"Air-"

"THALIA!" shouted one of the Hunters. "We need you over here!"

Thalia turned back to me. "Get yourself and… Isabella out of here. We can handle this."

I nodded. "See ya, Thals."

"Later, Neeks." Thalia replied, running off.

I grabbed Isabella's arm and got us out of there.

It was a big relief to be outside. I definitely wasn't going to visit any factories anytime soon. I slumped against the wall, taking in a deep breath. I skulled some Gatorade. Rescue missions were tiring. (And, um, I wasn't super duper pleased to see the Hunters, aside from Thalia, I guess.)

"You… know her?" Isabella asked me.

"She's my cousin," I replied. "And a friend."

"Cool," Isabella said. She looked away, sad, for a moment.

"Hey," I said, a little louder. My friend looked at me. "Don't do that again. Monsters can't be trusted."

"I know now…" Isabella sighed. "Sorry…"

"Be careful," I added. "Sometimes the Mist even fools demigods."

Isabella didn't reply for a bit.

"I thought my dad was in there," she said suddenly.

"Huh?" I asked.

"My dad," Isabella said. "I… heard his voice. I thought he was in the factory."

"Oh," I said. "Why would he be in there?"

"I don't know," Isabella replied. She looked even more down. "He's dead."

I wasn't really surprised. I had kind of guessed, from the way she talked about him. And she had been talking about death, which explained a lot of things.

"He sounded like a good person," I told her. "Not every demigod gets a good mortal parent." Or an alive mortal parent.

"He was like you," she said. "A really nice person."

I almost blushed. These compliments were making my knees wobbly. I decided to talk about something else.

"Those monsters were trying to get you to join them," I said. "Why?"

"I don't know," Isabella whimpered. "I don't know anything!"

I smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile. "That's demigod life. You rarely ever do."


	8. Lunch with the Hunters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Thalia, she's flipping great. XD We need more cousin interaction. I don't ship Thalico btw, I just see them more as siblings. ;p

Eventually, the Hunters showed up, and we followed them out of town. Isabella kept telling me I looked like I didn't want to be there. I can't say she was wrong.

The other Hunters didn't look like they wanted to be around me either. Others were looking at Isabella sympathetically. She seemed to notice this.

"Why are they all glaring at you?" she asked.

"They hate boys." I replied.

"Why?" Isabella asked.

"Part of the… agreement…" I said. "For joining the Hunters."

"Agreement?" Isabella asked.

"Indeed." a voice said behind me. A young girl was standing there. I recognised her almost immediately.

"Lady Artemis." I bowed. Isabella stared at me, then did the same.

"Nico di Angelo," Artemis acknowledged. "So we meet again." She glanced at Isabella, with a mixed expression. I bit my lip. I had a feeling she was going to ask Isabella to join the Hunt, which wasn't something I particularly wanted to happen.

"Isabella Johnson," the goddess said. "A surprise to see you here."

"Um… yeah…" Isabella said, awkwardly. "Do I know you?"

"You do not," Artemis replied. "But I have heard about you. You are very important, from what I have gathered."

"Really?" Isabella asked, looking surprised. She looked at me. I shrugged back at her.

"Indeed," Artemis nodded. "You are… different. That is why I cannot offer you to join my Hunt. You must stay with this young man." She looked a bit disgusted by that. I held back some rude comments.

"What… is your Hunt, if you don't mind me asking?" Isabella asked.

"Let us have a break," Artemis said. "And I will explain."

The Hunters had set up camp in a small, bushy area. Trees and all that. Isabella followed Artemis and a group of interested Hunters, while I stayed near Thalia. The Hunters were busy setting up meals and fixing their tents. Wolves were patrolling around too. Thalia watched her fellow huntresses with approval. We were standing a distance away.

"You guys make nice food?" I asked Thalia.

"The cooking got a lot better when a daughter of Demeter joined us," Thalia replied. "But it wasn't like it was ever disgusting or anything."

"No Iris-brand ROFL food?" I asked, cringing. Gods, I hate that stuff. Even more than pomegranates.

"Nope," Thalia laughed. There was a short silence between us. "So... what's with that girl? Where'd she come from?"

I explained the whole story to her, as briefly as I could. Thalia seemed intrigued.

"Huh," she said. "Who's her godly parent?"

"No idea," I said. "We all think it's Aphrodite… for you know, obvious reasons."

Thalia nodded. "Artemis said she can't join the Hunters though. Why? Because of you?"

"Kind of?" I shrugged. "Artemis said something about… her being different, so that's why she can't join. I don't know what she means, but Isabella isn't like other demigods I've met. She thinks I'm nice."

Thalia laughed.

I scowled. "It's not that funny, Pinecone Face."

"It's not that," Thalia said. "It's just… you're totally being a big brother to her, aren't you?"

I might've blushed. "Say what?"

"Yep," Thalia grinned. "I can tell, you love her."

"I do not!" I argued, looking away. "I mean- I've only known her for a few days! And I don't like kids. They're almost as annoying as my stepmother."

"Sure, whatever you say." Thalia said, sticking her tongue out. I glared at her.

"Nico!" Speak of the Devil, they say. Isabella ran over to me, a smile on her face. She glanced at Thalia, before looking back at me. "Did your dad really kidnap Kiara's sister Persephone?"

I looked away as Thalia started giggling.

I pulled out a bottle of Gatorade and some squashed sandwiches. Isabella seemed more interested in eating cereal from Kiara, the daughter of Demeter.

"This is betrayal," I told Isabella, glaring at her bowl of cereal. "You've gone to the dark side."

Isabella just giggled and ate her Lucky Charms. I sighed. At least Demeter would like her. Thalia just watched us with amusement. I gave her the stink-eye.

"Your cousin seems cool," Isabella told me.

"Cool," I grunted. "Sure."

"These girls are… all pretty cool, I guess," Isabella admitted. "Being a Hunter sounds… kinda cool, actually."

I scowled and scrunched up my bottle of Gatorade. I remembered my sister joining the Hunters all those years ago, only for her to die. I'd like to believe I got over it, but I didn't. I just learned how to move on.

"But…" Isabella spoke up. "I'd rather stay with you."

"You have to stay with me." I replied.

"I mean… even if I could join the Hunters, I'd rather stay with you." Isabella said.

I raised my brow. "Seriously?"

"I like being your friend," Isabella told me. "I don't want to leave you."

I almost blushed all over again. For some reason, I felt all warm inside, like my boyfriend had just given me a hug. Or when I was welcomed as a Hero on Olympus. That kind of feeling.

"That's… sweet of you, kid," I said, my voice all weird and croaky. If only my sister had been the same. "I didn't really want you to join the Hunters anyway, honestly…"

Isabella looked up, that understanding that I loathed but loved so much on her face. "Because… you're angry at them… right?"

"My sister," I said, staring at my feet. "We were pretty close. She joined the Hunt a few years ago."

"You've got a sister?" Isabella asked.

"I had two," I said. "Well, one is technically my half-sister, but still."

"A half-sister?" Isabella asked. "Is she nice?"

"Yep," I nodded. "Her name's Hazel. She's a daughter of Pluto. Maybe I'll tell you more about her some other time. Anyway, my full sister joined the Hunt, and she went on a quest with Thalia and a few others. And she died while on the quest."

Isabella went silent. But a sympathetic look was in her eyes.

"She was a good Hunter," a voice said behind me. Thalia. "And a good friend."

"She wasn't a Hunter for that long, Thalia." I replied drily. This topic made me want to curl up into a ball and just disappear.

"Let's just forget it," Thalia sighed. "Are you guys staying with us or going to that motel?"

"Going to the motel," I said. I was not staying with the Hunters. No thanks.

"Aww…" Isabella looked disappointed. "I liked Kiara's cereal."

"If you want more cereal, my aunt will happily provide some for you." I told her.

"He means, if you want to be force-fed cereal for the rest of your life, talk to our aunt." Thalia added in. We rolled our eyes at each other. Isabella looked freaked out. I held back a snort.

"Well, um, if you guys are going…" Thalia trailed off.

I stood up. "Yeah. We should go."

Thalia handed me my bag. "We put some extra food in there for you."

I nodded in appreciation.

"Thanks, Thalia!" Isabella chirped. She ran forward and hugged my cousin. Thalia laughed, patting her head and hugging her back.

"You're welcome, kid," she said. "You let me know if Nico here gets you in any trouble, okay? He'll get a shock, for sure."

I scowled. "Very funny."

"I didn't forget you, Death Breath," Thalia said, giving me a hug. I froze up, as if she was made of ice. Gods, I'm still not used to hugs. Isabella just giggled.

"Don't hesitate to IM me," Thalia told me, quietly, "if there's any trouble."

I awkwardly hugged her back. You don't even want to know how awkward it was.

But hey. I appreciated her charity.

"Thanks, Thals." I said, as we moved out of the hug. Thalia clapped me on the shoulder.

"Catch ya later, Death Breath." she said, grinning at me.

"Farewell, Pinecone Face." I replied.

"Bye!" Isabella waved, as we walked off.

"So," Isabella said, after a minute of silence. "Why do you call her 'Pinecone Face'?"

"And that's yet another long story." I sighed.


	9. Sweet Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Note: a lot of the locations in here aren't real places, or at least that I'm aware of. I'm just going off my imagination and making my own that are realistic but not truly real. I'm not American so XD

Good news: we arrived at the motel.

Bad news: we were in no way in for a peaceful stay. Though that really shouldn't be a huge surprise. We're demigods, after all.

After getting a key and all that, we headed into our little room. There were two beds, a small kitchen, and a bathroom.

"Dibs on this one!" Isabella went on the bed nearby the door.

"No complaints," I shrugged. "I wanted the corner bed anyway."

I slunk down on the bed, which really wasn't the best bed in the world, but hey, I can sleep anywhere. I stared at Isabella, who was jumping up and down on her bed. I was glad to see she was settling in, at least.

I looked outside. It was a nice evening, I guess. This motel was nearby a small forest, so that was good for a pleasant view.

I went to the tiny kitchen and started preparing 'dinner', despite my below-average cooking skills. It was pretty much just sandwiches and extra food the Hunters gave us.

"Chef di Angelo brings you his greatest meal," I said with half-hearted enthusiasm, approaching Isabella. "It is called, en 'Sandwiches and leftovers'."

Isabella just laughed. "Wow, very professional."

After our very exquisite and fancy meal, we were pretty much stuffed. Well, I'm always stuffed, but that's demigod life for you.

"Being a demigod is hard," Isabella said. "My life was already hard before all this but…"

"Yeah, it is hard," I sighed. We sat on her bed. "Not much you can do about it."

Isabella smiled sadly. "Before I met you, I never had any friends. I didn't know anyone at all, aside from my dad."

"Before I came to camp, I didn't know anyone either, aside from my sister," I admitted. "And even while I was at camp, I never felt at home there. I guess I had a few friends. Percy. Annabeth. Grover. But it wasn't really enough for me."

I had no idea why I was suddenly opening up so much, which I don't do often. Isabella just had some sort of strange, comforting aura that made you feel understood, accepted. And talkative, apparently.

"You deserved better," Isabella said. "Was your family nice?"

"... my dad isn't the world's greatest dad," I said, biting my lip. Now that was an uncomfortable topic. "And my step-mother hates my guts. I don't really remember my birth mother. My sister Hazel, is pretty nice though. I bet she'd like to meet you."

"She sounds nice," Isabella agreed. "My dad would've liked to meet you, too. He would've loved to know I had a real friend."

"Sounds like two were pretty close," I commented. "Wish I could say the same for my dad and I." I paused. "Well, I suppose he's gotten a bit better, but still. Not a fun topic."

"I never met my godly parent," Isabella said. "My dad only said she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever met, my scarf was a present from her, and she loved me very much. He never talked about why she left."

"You'll find out, one day," I said. "Hopefully. The gods aren't always reliable."

"They don't seem like good parents." Isabella said, in a dark tone that strangely caught me off guard.

"They're not the best." I agreed, quietly. You've gotta be careful about bad-mouthing the gods. They're very sensitive, and when you insult them, they tend to blow stuff up.

"Nico," Isabella stared at me. She almost looked like she was going to cry.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Could… could you tell me a…" she looked slightly embarrassed. "A bedtime story? My dad used to do it and… it helped me sleep."

I raised my brow. "Well that's… not really something I do, normally," I admitted, blushing.

"Please?" Isabella asked me, making a puppy face.

"Well, there is a story my sister used to tell me a long time ago, when I was scared, sometimes…" I said, letting Isabella climb into bed. I sat next to her. "She used to tell it in Italian, so excuse me if I get off track and start speaking that language."

I sighed, and began telling the story.

"C'era una - excuse me - Once upon a time, there were two baby birds. They were completely dependent on their parents for survival. They were happy though. One day, their parents died, and the baby birds had to look after themselves. They were very scared, sad, but determined. With the help of some friends, other birds, and plenty more, they travelled across the world. Yes, sometimes the birds got really scared, but they survived, because they didn't give up. And one day, they grew up to be beautiful birds of paradise. The end."

I kind of realised I wasn't good at story-telling. Never have been, or I put some kind of negative twist on it.

Isabella smiled. "That was a nice story."

"Bianca always said it related to me and her." I commented, sadly. It was easy to see how. Except the story had a different ending. I lost my sister, and hung out at my creepy dad's a lot. But in a weird way, both had a happy ending too…

Isabella leaned back into the bed. "It does, really. You're happy now."

"Happier." I corrected. I stood up. "Good night, Isabella."

"You can call me Bella, if you want," Isabella said. "My dad did."

"Alright," I said. "Good night, Bella."

Being a demigod, weird dreams a normality. But this one was different. In this dream, I wasn't myself. I was a young girl, who lived in a big house with my dad. (And I mean the girl's dad, not Hades). I was upset. School had gone horribly for me. No one wanted to talk to me or be my friend. Some people had tried to attack me. I didn't know why.

"Hey, honey," a kind voice said. It belonged to this dude with tanned skin, brown hair, and blue eyes. He kind of looked like a cross between Poseidon and Apollo. But to me, the young girl, he was my dad.

"How was school?" he asked, smiling.

"Bad," I whimpered. "I missed you, Daddy. And no one liked me."

"People can be very stupid sometimes, Bella," Dad said, giving me a hug. "They just don't understand you."

"I wanna be normal." I sniffled.

"You are normal," Dad insisted. "You're an amazing kid, Bella. It doesn't matter what they say. You're special."

"I wish I would die." I said, darkly.

"Don't say that," Dad said, suddenly harsh. The feelings radiated out of him like sonar waves, almost overwhelming me. "I love you. Mommy loves you. And I bet there'll be so many other people out there who will love you. You deserve to live, Isabella, do you understand?"

I didn't reply. I just cried. Because I could sense his feelings. I could tell he was telling the truth.

...

The dream changed. Dad looked older. His eyes had bags underneath them. He didn't seem to get much sleep anymore. The feelings that surrounded him were worry, and guilt. Love was still there, but happiness wasn't as common.

"Dad," I said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" he said. "Just tired, Bella. Dad's been… busy with stuff recently."

Liar. He was nervous about something. But what?

"You're scared." I said.

"You read me way too easily," Dad laughed. "Just like your mother. She could read me like a book." He sighed. "Well… it's just… complicated."

"Is it about the house?" I asked.

"Oh no, no," Dad shook his head. "It's... about you, actually."

"About me?" I asked, now confused. What was he talking about?

"Don't worry about it," Dad said, quickly. "Just forget it."

The dream changed. I was in my little room. The windows had been locked. Downstairs, I could hear yelling. My dad. And someone else.

I crept out of my bedroom, sneaking down the stairs. The yelling got louder and louder. It was coming from Dad's bedroom. As I got closer, I could tell Dad was yelling at a lady. I put my ear to the door.

"She can't avoid it forever, Nathan, you know that-"

"She's a child! I'm not letting her leave!"

"She'll have to leave whether you want her to or not. She's not like other demigods. She's-"

"She's my daughter!"

"She's my daughter too! I don't want her to suffer, just as much as you do. But this is by the oracle herself-"

"I don't give a damn what the oracle says!" There was a pause. "God, sometimes I just wish Isabella could be a normal damn kid!"

"Nathan!"

I ignored everything else. I ran away crying.

...

"Isabella," a frantic voice woke me up. It was Dad. "Bella, get up."

"What's wrong, Dad?" I asked, sitting up. My dad was pretty much spewing anxiety. I myself was almost trembling.

"You have to get out of here," Dad said, urgently. "Run away."

"What?" I asked. "Why?"

"It's really dangerous for you right now," Dad said. "Please, Bella, run! Get out of here!"

I heard something crash downstairs, and a roar that sounded inhuman. I screamed out.

Dad grabbed me and brought me downstairs. I saw monsters. Monsters all stopping and staring at me. There was destruction everywhere.

Dad put me down. "Run!" He pointed to the outdoors.

"Dad," I frowned in concern. "W-what about you?"

"Don't worry about me!" he screamed. "Just go, Isabella!"

He was almost in tears. His feelings were a burning rage mixed with fear.

Then he bent down and kissed my forehead. "I love you, Bella. I love you so much."

I grabbed his hand. I wanted him to come with me. It had always been just us. Him reading books to me because of my Dyslexia, him scaring off bullies, him giving me hugs whenever I felt down. He was always there for me. Even when I felt truly alone, he was there.

And now I had to say goodbye.

Dad smiled at me, tears in his eyes. "You're very brave, Isabella. I know you'll do the right thing." He gently pushed me away. "Now please, go!"

I came right back. "I can't leave you, Daddy. I'll only go if you go."

"Isabella-" My dad started, but was interrupted by a roar. I saw… a bull-like creature appear. Dad yelled out and pushed me away. The creature grabbed him.

"RUN!" Dad screamed. I just stood there in utter shock. Tears built up behind my eyes. I backed up, and heard my dad scream out one last time.

And I finally listened to his last testament.

I ran and ran. I didn't stop running. I didn't know or care where I was going. I just wanted to get away.

Life didn't mean anything to me anymore. I didn't care. I just wanted to die.

My dad was gone. Nothing mattered.

I fainted somewhere. Cold. Bitter. I swear somewhere, I heard a voice calling out to me, but it didn't matter that much.

It was over for me.

...

...

Suddenly, I was back to Nico di Angelo. All those strange memories got mixed up in my head. My brain hurt. What was that about? Isabella?

My heart ached for her. She really had been lonely…

But I wondered why I'd had her memories for a dream. It was… kind of weird.

I walked through the world of dreams for a bit, and as always, crashed into the Hypnos cabin. No escaping there if you're going dream-travelling. It's pretty much Dream HQ.

I headed inside, and as usual, saw Clovis sleeping on the floor.

"Hey," I said.

"Hot chocolate…" he mumbled. His eyes lazily fluttered open. "Oh… hey, di Angelo… got any hot chocolate?"

"Nope," I replied. "I've got a bubblegum flavoured lollipop, though. I'll give it to you if you answer a question of mine."

"Deal," Clovis said, lumbering towards me. I pulled the lollipop out of my pocket and handed it to him. He lazily took the wrapping off. "What's your question?"

"So, as you should know, I'm on a quest right now with a girl," I said. "And… for some reason, I had a dream about her past."

"Huh…" Clovis looked thoughtful. "Let me look into that." He closed his eyes for a moment. "What's her name?"

"Isabella Johnson." I replied. Clovis nodded. He made a few expressions, some of which were probably concerning.

"Weird," he said, a little while later. "Is she asleep?"

"Um… yeah?" I replied, suddenly nervous.

"I can't find her dreams anywhere," Clovis said. "Either she's powerful enough to block me off, which usually only gods can do, or she's awake."

"Awake?" I gulped. Gods, I hoped she was just at the bathroom or something.

"In fact," Clovis said. "I don't think she's been asleep at all, today."

"Then… her memories…" I paled. "What was all that about?"

"I think she has some sort of magic bond to you," Clovis replied. "I'm not so good with magic bonds. I think you might have to deal with that yourself, di Angelo."

I sighed and nodded. "Time to wake up."

I woke up with a start, sweating. I looked at Isabella's bed, and she wasn't there. I knocked on the bathroom door, and got no response. I immediately started to panic.

This wasn't going to end well.


	10. Kidnapped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I commissioned an artist named TwilaHolmes to draw a picture for this story, if you're reading this on Wattpad or Quotev you can see it on chapter 2, if not, feel free to view it by following the link. https://sta.sh/06hb90csy58
> 
> Twila is an awesome artist so if you have deviantART I recommend watching her! She has Tumblr too
> 
> Anyway on with the chapter!

"Isabella?" I called out, walking around the motel. No one responded. I wasn't speaking overly loudly though, because waking mortals wasn't going to help me in any way.

"Isabella?" I called out once again. I summoned some undead warriors, and sent them to look for my friend. Meanwhile, I crept a little further away from the motel, still calling her name. No response.

Gods, Nico, I thought. You can't even watch a kid for an entire night!

I was even looking inside other people's rooms. It was pretty embarrassing, but I was getting desperate. I was pretty relieved when I saw one of my undead soldiers approaching.

"Did you find her?" I asked.

The skeleton guard probably would've looked worried if it could.

Yes, lord, its voice hissed in my head. She is in a cemetery.

"A cemetery?" I frowned. "Why would she be..." I sighed. "You know what, just lead me to this cemetery in question."

We got to the cemetery. Like most cemeteries it was long and dark and full of tombstones. And the dead calling out to me. It was slightly annoying when you were trying to look for a child.

I looked around, but couldn't see Isabella anywhere. I gripped my sword, just in case things got messy. I gritted my teeth, a faint breeze blowing through my hair. The sky was midnight black, stars twinkling like little diamonds. How's that for 'descriptive writing'? No? Whatever.

Anyway, I continued following my skeleton friends, until they stopped at a open grave. I saw bags of McDonald's on the side, and a few chicken McNuggets sprawled across the ground. No Isabella, though.

Weird, I thought. Pretty sure I've never been here before...

"So... where is she?" I asked.

She was here, a skeleton replied.

"Was here," I frowned. "Why? And where is she now?"

I believe she was trying to summon someone, the skeleton said. From the dead.

I scowled. "Seriously? But she can't..." I wanted to slap someone. Did she really think she could summon the dead? Why would she even try?

I had a feeling this had something to do with her dad.

"Do you know where she is now?" I asked again.

She was kidnapped, the skeleton replied. By two Cyclopes.

"Wonderful," I grumbled sarcastically, though internally I was freaking out. "And where did they take her?"

I believe they said something about the Golden Gate Bridge... the skeleton said, shrugging. Yep, skeletons do that.

I sighed. "Welp, looks like we're going to San Francisco a little early."

I packed everything into the bag. I noticed we had less money than before, which meant Isabella must've used it to buy the McDonald's. You can probably tell I wasn't in the mood to be skipping through a field of daisies. (Though I'd never be in the mood to do that, I hate flowers.) Now I knew why she was asking those questions about death.

"The little-" I cut myself off. San Francisco was far away, and I was gonna have to shadow travel there. I had a bottle of Gatorade prepared. I clambered into the nearest shadow, and arrived at San Francisco. Despite being the middle of the night, there were still cars driving and people walking around. The Golden Gate Bridge was up ahead, looking all shiny and cool.

I was in an alleyway. After skulling a whole bottle of Gatorade (while half asleep!), I slipped through the shadows, like a ninja. I couldn't see any monsters... yet. I saw plenty of drunk mortals though. Fun times for everybody.

After almost crashing into a feral cat, I noticed two figures in the distance. Two definitely non-human figures. I raced towards them, while still slipping through the shadows. As I got closer, I could tell they were monsters. They were standing next to a fruit truck.

One of the Cyclopes put something that looked like a cage into the truck. Then they both climbed in. The truck began moving forward, heading towards the bridge. I frowned. No way I was going to be able to catch up to them. If I shadow-travelled again I would've passed out. Even now I was still drowsy.

Then I remembered I had a zombie chauffeur. Gift from my dad, long story.

I summoned Jules-Albert. He rocked up with a limousine, naturally.

"Good evening, monsieur," he said. Did I mention he's French?

"Hey," I said. "How do you feel about participating in a car- well, truck - chase with me?"

That zombie sent shivers down my spine with that smile. "I would very much enjoy that."


	11. I get into a car chase with a zombie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm not sure if the chauffeur calls Nico 'monsieur' in the books but I'm putting it here anyway

I'm not one of those people who has a 'to-do' list. But if I did, 'getting into a car chase with a zombie' would be ticked off.

Jules-Albert put on some French opera music while I eyed the fruit van. It was turning onto the famous Golden Gate bridge, and so our limousine sped up. I stuck my head out of the window, like a dog's. My dyslexia was acting up, so I couldn't read what was written on the truck. All I saw were pictures of tropical fruit.

The view from the bridge was pretty nice. All the lights were lit up, so it looked like we were driving on fire. Pretty fire, not Leo-crazy fire. If we weren't in the middle of a quest, I would've spent more time gazing over the water.

"Monsieur," my chauffeur's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "We're next to the van."

He was right. Now we were next to the van, and I could almost make out the words. Well, not really. I sat up, gripping my sword.

"Stay here," I said. "I'll be back."

And I shadow-travelled into the van.

I landed on a pile of oranges. I could tell by the smell, and the fact that I'd pierced a few of them with my sword. I stood up, my jacket now smelling like freshly squeezed orange juice. It was quite dark in there, but thankfully, the darkness is my birthright. In other words, I can get through it pretty easily. I crept forward, faintly seeing the silhouettes of two Cyclopes. They were looking around in confusion, unaware that they smelled like smoothies and stuck out like a pair of sore thumbs. Unlike Percy's Cyclops brother Tyson, they didn't look very friendly.

Between them was a cage. And in that cage, of course, was Isabella. I frowned.

"Orange juice," one of the Cyclopes said, sniffing the air. That gave me an idea. The smell of fruit could cover up my scent…

I used my sword to cut up pieces of oranges and other fruit, and then, the fun part, drenched myself in them. It was like having the world's fruitiest shower. (It wasn't as fun as it sounds, I got orange juice in my eye.) Now I smelled like fruit salad.

Wiping orange juice off my face, I stalked towards the Cyclopes once again. I held out my sword, which also smelled like fruit. The Cyclopes didn't suspect a thing, as planned. But Isabella saw me. She stared at me with relief.

"I'm hungry," one of the Cyclopes said. "I'm sick of fruit."

I was right behind the Cyclops on the left.

"We don't have anything else, stupid," the other grunted. "Just fruit."

And that's when I struck.

I stabbed one of the Cyclopes in the back, causing him to fall over while screaming. He turned to gold dust.

"Jeremy!" the other Cyclops screamed. He glared at me. "That was my boyfriend!"

That kind of caught me off-guard. The Cyclops suddenly rammed forward and punched me in the chest. I landed into a box full of passionfruit. At least it wasn't pomegranates.

"Nico!" Isabella called out in concern.

"You know him?" the Cyclops asked her.

"Yes, she does," I stood up, wiping passionfruit off my arm. "And you shouldn't have taken her."

"You don't know what's going on here!" the Cyclops replied. "We have good reasons!"

"You probably don't," I said, pointing my sword towards him. "If you let her go and let us leave peacefully, maybe I'll spare you."

"NEVER!" the Cyclops screamed. "YOU WILL DIE FOR KILLING JEREMY!"

He raced towards me again. I jumped out of the way; he crashed into some pineapples. The whole van shook from the impact. He roared in anger. And then I got another idea.

I raced over to the crate full of oranges and grabbed one. I tore it open, getting my hand covered in juice. Biting my lip, I gazed back at the Cyclops. This wasn't going to be pretty for him.

"DIE!" the cyclops roared, running towards me. I jumped out of the way, then clambered onto his back as tightly as it could. I'm pretty sure that's what it feels like to be on a wild horse. Gripping the orange tightly, I squeezed the juice into his eye. He screamed in pain. He fell to his knees, clutching his entire head. I winced. I knew what that felt like. I ran over to Isabella, who was watching the whole thing with wide eyes.

"Ouch," she said.

"Yeah," I agreed. I offered my hand through the bars. "Grab on. I'll shadow travel us out of here."

Isabella grabbed my hand.

"YOU WON'T ESCAPE!" the cyclops screamed. He ran over to me, and suddenly picked me up by the scruff of my neck. Seriously, why does that keep happening?

"Nico!" Isabella cried. She held out her whip, and slung it through the bars. It wrapped around the Cyclops' foot. I jabbed the heel of my boot into the Cyclops' chest, while Isabella pulled her whip. The Cyclops fell over with a shout.

"Nice work," I told Isabella. I ran over to her again. "Let's get out of here."

"What about the driver of this van?" she asked.

"What about them?"

"What if Patrick hurts them?"

"Patrick…?"

"The Cyclops."

"Not much we can do about that," I sighed. "Sorry, kid. We need to go."

Isabella sighed and held out her hand. I grabbed onto it; we shadow-travelled out of the van. We landed back in Jules-Albert's car. Isabella was sitting in the back, while I was in the front. The French opera music was on full-blast.

"Who's that?!" Isabella asked, staring at Jules-Albert with wide eyes.

"My zombie chauffeur." I replied.

"You have a zombie chauffeur?!"

"Let's just say Hades is an… interesting father."

"Pleased to meet you too, madame." Jules-Albert interrupted, shooting me a withering (get it, because he's a zombie? Forget it, I'm not funny) look.

"Hi Mr. Nico's Zombie Chauffeur!" Isabella said, waving at him.

"Just call him Jules-Albert," I sighed. I whispered, "He won't be here too long, don't worry."

"I may be dead, but I can still hear you, Monsieur." Jules-Albert told me, slightly annoyed.

"Why didn't we use this guy to travel around at the start?" Isabella asked, logically. "We could've avoided a whole bunch of stuff."

"Because, firstly, quests suck," I answered. "Secondly, trust me, you don't want to listen to French Opera for ten hours."

"Hmph." Jules-Albert turned away from me.

Isabella just laughed. Then I remembered this whole ordeal was kind of her fault.

"I don't know why you're laughing," I grumbled. "You're the whole reason we're here."

Isabella stopped laughing after that.

"Do you even know how crazy you are?" I growled. "You could've-"

I was interrupted by a loud honk. It belonged to a certain fruit van, which now had Patrick the Cyclops sitting in the driver's seat. He drew his finger across his neck.

"I told you we should've looked after the driver…" Isabella commented.

"Jules-Albert," I turned to my chauffeur. "Step on it."

And that he did. The car sped up, and suddenly we were definitely breaking the law. We drove around other cars. Jules-Albert was emotionless, good for him, I guess. A positive side of having a zombie chauffeur is they don't get scared. As for me, I wasn't having such a good time. Probably because Patrick kept holding up a knife.

"Anywhere you'd like to go in particular, Monsieur?" Jules-Albert asked me.

"Far away from that van," I said, pointing at the fruit van. "The further, the better."

Jules-Albert kept swerving around cars, doing a few wheelies on the way. We were now off the bridge and headed into another area full of city. Lights appeared in and out of my peripheral vision. The fruit van was still after us. I really had no idea how a Cyclops knew how to drive.

"Whoohoo!" Isabella cheered. "This is awesome!"

"This is not awesome," I snapped. "We're being chased by a Cyclops in a fruit van! How is that awesome?"

"It's exciting!" Isabella retorted. "It's like going a rollercoaster!"

I decided not to respond to that. The good news was, we were starting to loose the fruit van behind a few more cars.

"We're doing okay," I sighed. "Good job, Jules."

"I don't mean to alert you, Monsieur, but…" Jules-Albert pointed to the mirror outside the car. In its reflection I could see…

"Oh great," I sighed. "The police. That's just what we need."

About five police cars were now hot on our trail, sirens blaring. Like I said before, mortals aren't really dangerous, it's just whenever they get involved things get… messy.

"I thought the mist or whatever covered mortals' vision," Isabella said.

"It wouldn't cover this car," I replied. "Since it isn't exactly abnormal."

"Oh," Isabella said. "Well, mortals are harmless, right?"

"Mostly," I replied. "They have a tendency to make situations pretty messy, though. Better to just try and leave them out of stuff if you can."

Isabella nodded, understandingly.

"There are more ahead," Jules-Albert said, almost sounding anxious. And if the undead guy was scared, that was not a good sign.

I frowned. I stared at my chauffeur, and immediately felt a pang of sadness. I had another plan, but it wasn't a great one.

"Bella and I can't afford to get arrested," I said. "I'm gonna have to shadow-travel us out of this car. Jules… that means…"

"I understand, young Monsieur," Jules-Albert said. "I can handle the mortals."

I smiled with as much effort as I could. "Thanks."

"Wait, he's going to get arrested?!" Isabella asked.

I turned back to face her. "Unfortunately." I held out my hand. "We're going to get out of here."

Isabella hesitated. More police cars surrounded us. It wasn't going to be easy to move soon.

"Come on," I said, biting my lip. "We've gotta go."

Isabella grabbed my hand. We disappeared into the shadows. And her face was the last thing I saw until I passed out.


	12. A crazy goddess gives us a quest

Hey Nico, you might be thinking. You really pass out a lot.

Yeah, but only when I shadow-travel. That stuff is tiring. Also, I like sleeping. Aside from when I have nightmares, of course. Not something that helps with a good night's sleep.

One of the fun things about passing out on quests is you never know where or who you're going to wake up with. In this case, I woke up in a campsite with the world's most beautiful ten year old. I was wearing a light grey sweatshirt with gold around the sleeves, which was a shirt I definitely did not own. I was also wearing light grey, matching trousers. I was sitting on a black sleeping bag, while Isabella was sitting on one of those portable chairs, sipping something out of a thermos. We were in the middle of a forest. How we got there, I have no clue.

"Hi," Isabella said, looking at me.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Um, I'm not actually sure," Isabella replied. "We pretty much showed up here, when you did that, um, shadowy-thing. You passed out… and, like ten minutes later, this lady with wings showed up. She made this campsite appear, and said she had something important for us to do, as soon as you woke up. Then she left, and… this is where we've been ever since."

"A lady with wings?" I asked. "What else did she look like?"

"Well, she had a spear, I think," Isabella said. "And she looked like she'd been drinking coffee for ten hours straight…"

I had a pretty good guess of who it was.

"Nike," I said. "Goddess of Victory."

With that, the goddess herself appeared. She, like Isabella said, was wielding a golden spear. A wreath was upon her plaited brown hair, and she was wearing a long, white toga. A pair of golden wings was on her back. Again, like Isabella said, she looked like she'd had way too much caffeine.

"M'lady," I bowed. I nudged Isabella, getting her to do the same thing.

"So you've woken," Nike said, very loudly, like she'd never heard of the concept of an inside voice. She turned to Isabella. "Did you like my sports drink?"

"Yeah, I guess," Isabella said, glancing at her thermos. "These shoes are nice, too, I suppose…"

I hadn't realised she was wearing new shoes. I wasn't surprised when I saw they were Nike-brand shoes. And I was somehow less surprised when I noticed I was wearing Nike shoes as well.

"Of course," Nike smiled proudly. "I make only the best shoes. Much better than Hermes'." She scoffed. Already she was reminding me of Laurel and Holly Victor, her daughters at camp. They were very competitive. And I mean very, very competitive. Sometimes, they were even scarier than me, and that's no easy feat.

"Excuse me," I interrupted. "Lady Nike, why are you here?"

"Your quest intrigues me, young demigod," Nike said. "As well as you. You have had many victories, have you not?"

I didn't know what to say to that. Gods, I was awful at accepting compliments. Probably because I wasn't used to it.

"I will offer you a gift if you help me with a favour," Nike said. "A gift I believe you will find very useful."

"A favour," I repeated.

"Indeed," Nike replied. "My Wings of Victory have been stolen by a group of rebellious monsters." She angrily scrunched up a thermos in her bare fist and threw it at a tree. I gripped the hilt of my sword in fright.

"But you're wearing them." Isabella said, kind of reading my mind.

"These are my backup ones," Nike said, shaking her head. "Nothing like the original."

Because that makes sense, I thought. If only the other gods had backup weapons.

"So, let me guess," I said. "You want us to find your wings?"

"Close," Nike replied. "Yes, I want you to find my wings. But I also want you to take a guest along for your quest."

I glanced at Isabella. Suddenly I realised how angry I was at her. I held it back, because I wasn't going to yell at a kid in front of a goddess.

"A guest," I said, my tone suddenly dry. "Who?"

"My demigod daughter," the goddess replied. "Her name is Penelope Sokolov. She does not like that Half-Blood camp, and… well, generally being around people."

"Sounds like we'll get on great." I muttered. Isabella just frowned at me.

"However, she is very determined," Nike said, shooting me a slight glare. "And wants a chance to prove herself. As entertaining as it is to see her beat up homeless people, I believe it would be better if she did something more… productive." She looked away, awkwardly, reminding me of my dad, weirdly.

"So, you want me to take your daughter on a quest with us." I said.

"That's the jist of it," Nike replied. "And, if you could convince her to go to the Half-Blood camp, that would be wonderful, too."

Sounds like Penelope's got issues, I thought. Can't blame her.

"What about her mortal family?" Isabella asked. "Are they dead, too?"

I shot her a look, like, you can't just ask about people's mortal families!

"Her father lives in Russia," Nike replied. "She… ran away."

"More like she flew away," Isabella commented. "You can't run from Russia to here. That's dumb."

"Isabella." I grumbled. She blushed and looked at her shoes.

"She will help you find my wings," Nike said, as if she hadn't heard Isabella. "You will need her."

"Where is she?" I asked.

Nike pointed East. "Head that way, until you see a large street. She will be near a cafe with a bright red roof, and lots of dandelions surrounding it. It won't be hard to miss."

"Yuck," Isabella cringed. "I hate dandelions."

The stupid ADHD part of my brain wondered why.

"Cafe with a red roof and dandelions," I said. "Got it. Is that all?"

"Meet me by the central square's fountain by evening with the wings," Nike said. "You will know where it is."

Then she disappeared.

"So," I said, turning to Isabella. "Why do you hate dandelions?"

"Allergies," Isabella replied. "Last time I touched a dandelion I had to go to hospital."

"Ouch," I winced. "Let's keep away from the dandelions, then."

Isabella chuckled lightly, then started frowning.

"Sorry, Nico," she said, sighing sadly. "Sorry about… getting… kidnapped. And trying to summon my dad from the dead. And other stupid things."

"Look, just don't do it again," I said, crossing my arms like some kind of parent. "If you die, I'm dead too. Whoever your godly parent is will kill me. And then all the Olympians will too."

"Wait…" Isabella stared at me. "If I kill you, will your dad kill me?"

"Well," I frowned. "He won't like you very much, that's for sure. You won't have a happy afterlife. I mean, if you want to decrease your life expectancy by about 10000%, you're welcome to try."

"You said try," Isabella said.

"Yeah," I replied, almost smirking. "Murder isn't as easy as it looks."

"You're creepy." Isabella said, flinching.

"I get that a lot," I said. "Don't worry, I'm not a psychotic killer. I just hang around with dead people and my overprotective boyfriend."

Isabella just laughed at that. That made me feel… a bit better, despite everything.

I only hoped the girl we were going to meet was… tolerable.


	13. Into the sewer!

She wasn't tolerable. Even if Isabella hadn't been giving her a sort of wary look, I would've had my suspicions from the way she was standing there.

Penelope Sokolov was leaning against the cafe with the red roof and dandelions. She stood there with a sneer on her face, immediately reminding me of Octavian. And her mother and half-siblings, of course. She was definitely taller than me, and definitely taller than a few of my friends. She had long, brown hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a brown, leather bomber jacket with silver on her collar, forearms and on her zipper. That jacket looked expensive, and considering she was homeless, I had a bad feeling about where she might've got it from.

She was also wearing a pair of Nike pants (of course) and shoes. In her left hand was a long, silver spear with rings of gold.

"I'm not sure about this…" Isabella muttered.

"We can't defy a goddess, kid." I sighed. We walked up to Penelope, she immediately glowered at us. I resisted the urge to glower back.

"Hi," I said, politely as I could. "I'm Nico, and this is Isabella. Your mom wants us to go on a quest with you to find her Wings of Victory."

"I know," Penelope replied, way louder than I expected (and I wasn't expecting much). Her accent was a mix of Russian and American. "My mother told me all about it."

"Great," I said, trying not to sound sarcastic. "She also said you'd know where the wings are."

"Of course I know where they are," Penelope snapped. "I'm going to be the one to retrieve them!"

"What... about us?" Isabella asked.

"The boy can watch," Penelope said, glaring at me. I glared back. What was her problem? Her expression softened when she turned to Isabella. "And I'll give you a piggyback, because you're so cute!"

Isabella blushed as Penelope pinched her cheeks.

"How about you go on this quest by yourself, then?" I snapped. I pulled Isabella away from Penelope. "If you're so confident in yourself."

"Oh no," Penelope shook her head. "My mother requested that you come with me. But! I'll prove to her that I don't need you to come. You'll just sit there and watch, while I get those wings!"

I frowned. "That's not how quests work. If you go by yourself-"

"You think because you're a child of the Big Three you can boss me around?" Penelope interrupted. "I don't need your input, Nero!"

"Nico." I corrected, clenching my fists.

"Whatever!" Penelope grumbled. "This is my quest! I'm Nike's daughter! I'm the one who's supposed to get those wings!"

I was really starting to get annoyed now. I dug my nails into my skin, until I could feel blood. Isabella was looking at me with concern.

"Um…" she spoke up. "I think quests are meant to be about teamwork…"

"I don't care," Penelope growled. She softened her tone. "Look, Isabella, I'm not like other demigods. I don't waste time messing around. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."

Oh, you're real special, aren't you? I thought bitterly. Though, I didn't completely disagree with her. People got on my nerves all the time. And yeah, sometimes things got done faster if I did them alone.

"Quests are different," I said. "You need people with you. If you die, who's gonna continue the quest?"

"I'm not going to die," Penelope said.

"You don't know that." I replied, frowning.

"I'm not." Penelope insisted. I decided it was pointless to argue anymore. I was annoyed enough as it is. Bones were already starting to appear at my feet. Good things don't happen when I'm angry.

"So," Isabella spoke up quickly. "Where are the wings?"

"Follow me." Penelope said, holding up her head. She walked off quickly, holding out her spear, like she wanted to stab the people passing by. She grabbed Isabella's hand, and began talking to her about stuff. Probably nothing complimentary about me. I sulked behind, trying not to start the zombie apocalypse. Well, at least I didn't smell like a fruit smoothie anymore.

We walked for a while. We went past lots of buildings, and that fountain Nike wanted us to deliver her wings to. Penelope was still with Isabella, ruffling her hair like they were sisters. I don't know why but for some reason it was bothering me more than Penelope insulting me to my face.

Occasionally, a monster would walk by, and Penelope would show off by screaming and stabbing it with her spear. She'd then smile at all the mortals and proclaim that she'd saved them, even though they looked very confused. I was very tempted to drown myself in that stupid fountain.

Eventually, we made it to a crumbly-looking staircase, which led into a dark and creepy train station. I'd actually like it if it didn't smell like someone had pissed all over the floor. It reminded me of the stables at the Triple G Ranch, which is definitely not on my list of Top 5 Holiday Destinations. Even Penelope looked disgusted.

"Still determined to get those wings?" I asked.

"I will knock your %$$£& out!" Penelope growled. Chiron asked me to remove what she said there, as he deemed it 'inappropriate'. Sure, we can have violence but swearing? No way, there might be kids reading!

"Do you have anger issues or something?" I snapped, 110% done with this girl. "I've done nothing to you, and you hate me!"

"I don't have anger issues, you-" Penelope replied with a series of pretty bad words that reminded me of Sisyphus. "Just… stay out of my way!"

The ground rumbled as I clenched my fists again. Some of the things she said weren't... well, very nice.

"Guys," Isabella cried. "Come on, don't fight! There's no need for this!"

"So I should just let her keep insulting me?" I asked, bitterly.

"No!" Isabella replied. "I mean…" She looked at Penelope. "Be nice to each other, or we'll never complete this quest."

"That's another thing I don't get," I glared at Penelope. "Why are you nice to Isabella and not me?"

"Nico," Isabella said, and immediately I felt guilty. This girl was too good at playing with emotions.

"Fine," I sighed. "Let's go and find those wings."

We ventured into the stinky train station, which smelled even worse once we were in there. There wasn't much light, aside from a few half-working lightbulbs. The floor was covered in a wet substance which I didn't want to know much about, and I spotted a few rats running around in the darkness. The walls were filthy as well. I touched one and it left a black smudge on my fingers. I didn't touch the walls again after that.

Penelope stormed forward, though occasionally she'd shake off the gross stuff on her boots. Isabella stayed near me, clinging onto my jacket.

"Sorry about her," she whispered. "She's not as bad as you think she is. She ran away from her home in Russia because her father tried to force to join some group with some other demigods. It didn't work out very well, and she got really distressed and upset. She prayed to her mom for help, and got out of Russia. Since then, she hasn't got on well with demigods… or anyone, really."

"Aside from you?" I asked.

"I could feel the distress and anguish coming off her," Isabella said, quietly. "I couldn't turn away. She wasn't… so bad. I could tell."

"You're really good at this reading emotions thing, aren't you?" I asked. "You're like a mind reader, or something."

"My dad said my mom was like that, too," Isabella commented, sadly. "She was the most understanding person he'd ever met. Maybe a little too understanding."

"I second that," I muttered. It gave me no clues about who my young friend's godly parent was. She sounded too nice to be Aphrodite…

"Come on, slow pokes," Penelope snapped. "Or I'll leave you behind!"

I glanced at Isabella one more time. We nodded at each other, and ran ahead to catch up with Penelope.

"In here," the tall girl said, pointing to an open door. It lead into what looked like a sewer. Smelled like one too. Fun, right?

"Great," I muttered.

Penelope climbed in, though not without looking like she wanted to gag. "Hurry up!"'

I sighed. This wasn't a very fun quest.

Following after her, Isabella and I plunged into the disgusting sewer.


	14. Everything stinks, especially giants

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I've just started writing another PJO fanfic. It's about if Thalia was never a pine tree. If you're interested, it's called Thalia Grace and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief'. It's probably better than this fanfic lmao
> 
> Also I have a deviantART iHateFridays, where I post fanart for this story and other stories. I have Tumblr too, fridayhater. That's all, happy reading! UwU

...

You don't need Athena's smarts to figure out that crawling through a sewer wasn't fun at all.

I mean, my clothes got dirty for the third time on this stupid quest. First from a monster fight, then on a fruit van, and now in a stupid sewer. Demigods needed more laundromats around. Or, a god of laundries. That would be helpful. I kind of wish the Greeks had put a little more thought into what there should and shouldn't be gods of.

Penelope, who was somewhat ahead, kept grumbling about things. Probably about me, because I caught my name, and the word 'idiot' a few times.

"I can hear you." I said.

"Whatever!" She replied, though she sounded embarrassed.

"Can you, uh, slow down a bit as well?" I added. "Not everyone likes running through sewers as much as you do."

I think I heard Penelope facepalm. Isabella snorted.

After wiping some pretty gross stuff off my shoes, we came to this big tunnel. It lead into more darkness and bad smells. Penelope was looking around, confusion on her face.

"Well?" I asked.

"Nothing," she growled. "I just… um, I just need to think about where I'm going."

"You're lost." Isabella said.

"I'm not!" Penelope snapped.

"I'm gonna go with Isabella on this one," I said. "You're lost."

"I'm not lost!" Penelope repeated.

"Then why are you standing around?" I asked.

"Because-" Penelope began, but then she was interrupted by a roar. I heard something breathing heavily, making the disgusting sewer water ripple beneath us. The ground started to rumble a little bit.

Penelope held up her spear. I got out my sword, while Isabella got out her whip. The sound got louder and louder. We braced ourselves.

It turned out to be…

... a mortal.

"What're y'all staring at me like that for?" the guy asked, scratching his head.

"What're you doing down in a sewer?" Penelope replied.

The guy was about to answer, when suddenly a giant appeared. Well, giants, actually. An army of Laistrygonian (what a mouthful) giants. They were all pretty tall, no surprises there, muscular, and pretty ugly.

"They look some mortals I knew at school…" Isabella muttered. Honestly I couldn't disagree. Back at Westover, there had been some... interesting kids.

"Aiieeee who're all these?!" the mortal guy freaked out, before fainting.

"DEMIGODS!" the leader of the giants boomed. "So you've come for the wings?"

Penelope scowled. "Yes," she growled. "You better hand them over before this gets ugly."

The giants all boomed with laughter. Penelope looked even more ticked off.

"You think this is a joke, you fat-" she called them a bunch of rude names. "I will crush your skulls and dance on your corpses!"

The giants stopped laughing and all raced towards her. She held up her spear and ran right back at them, screaming. I sighed and shadow-travelled, appearing behind the giants. I summoned a few skeletons, who distracted the giants while Penelope was sparring. Teamwork chivalry.

Isabella got out her whip, and wrapped it around a giant's foot. He yelped and fell into a bunch of other giants. Meanwhile, Penelope had successfully managed to stab one of the giants. She cheered, coated in gold dust.

I sliced my sword across a giant's chest, killing him. Some undead soldiers and I ganged up on another giant, and took him down as well.

"You laughed at us, but you underestimated the power of victory!" Penelope yelled. "The strength of victory will never let you bring me down!"

I decided not to mention that she would've been dead if Isabella and I didn't pitch in, because she wouldn't have listened anyway.

The injured giants growled.

"You really think so, demigod?" one of them asked smugly. "It's not going to be that easy."

More giants began appearing. Bigger ones, with some intimidating-looking weapons. The tunnel was almost full of them. Penelope flinched.

"She's nervous…" Isabella muttered, staying behind me.

"Not surprised," I muttered back.

"O-oh yeah, I can take a lot more than that!" Penelope yelled, holding out her spear.

"Penelope," I warned. "You can't. Come back here."

"Shut up," Penelope yelled back at me. "You-" She called me a pretty bad name.

The giants oohed and awwed. I wasn't so happy.

"Gods," I snapped, bones appearing at my feet. My eyes felt droopy, but I kept my head up. "Look, you can't-"

Penelope yelled and charged the giants. Immediately, a group of them grabbed her and held her against the wall.

"Hey!" she bellowed. "Let me go!"

The giants began to drag her away. Meanwhile, another group of them began fighting Isabella and I. Isabella did the ankle-thing again with her whip, making the whole battle look like dominos. While it was great, it didn't help that some of the sewer water splashed on me.

I threw up a little bit.

"You okay?" Isabella asked, holding out her hand.

"Gods," I groaned. "I hate this sewer."

I let her help me up. I shook my head, feeling dizzy. I accepted some of the nectar she gave me.

"If we weren't on a quest," I admitted, "I'd leave Penelope to rot."

"Nico!" Isabella glared at me.

"I know," I sighed. "It's just… look, I wouldn't really leave her to rot. I wouldn't be able to get the guilt off my conscience."

Why did I say that? I thought. Isabella's emotional manipulation... bleh.

"Of course," Isabella said, with a little smile. "Let's go after her."

We went the way the monsters had. It got darker and smellier, but thankfully I can manipulate darkness pretty well.

"Nico, look," Isabella said, as we trudged through some sludge. "It's her spear."

It was covered in the gross sludge. I grabbed it, and slung it over my shoulder (even more gross). Well, she wasn't dead. Yet.

"She's near," I said. "A little further, now."

I'll admit, I had some false hope. We kept going, but came to a dead end. No, it's not a pun. (No, Percy, death puns aren't funny. Seriously. Stop laughing.)

"Great," I sighed. "Where now?"

We looked around a little more, but didn't find anything.

"Maybe there's a trap door, somewhere," Isabella said. She began pressing all the bricks, without throwing up (they were filthy). "Nothing here…"

I turned to the wall straight ahead, and stared at it for a while. I'm pretty sure I noticed something funky on there. I reached forward and grabbed it.

"Wait, Nico-" Isabella turned to me, but too late. Everything had disappeared.

...

"You were right, Nico… we were lost…"

"Are you there…? Hey, I like your skull ring…"

"You're not dead, are you?"

"Shut up…" I muttered, sitting up. But strangely, there was no one there. I was sitting in a cell of some kind. Outside was just a lot of dark, gross-looking water. I smelled awful. Still. Then I saw Penelope, sitting there.

"Huh?" I asked. "What's happening?"

"Hey," she said. "Nice to see you awake." Her tone seemed kinder, than usual. I wasn't sure why she was suddenly being so nice. Isabella's weird influence?

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Kidnapped by giants," Penelope replied, looking down. Guiltily.

"Where's Isabella?" I asked.

Penelope looked down. I could've been mistaken, but her eyes were glistening with tears.

"She's dead."


	15. Rescue mission

I sat up, my throat tight. "No she's not."

"She has to be," Penelope said, frantic. "She-"

"She's not dead," I insisted. "Trust me, I'd know."

"Right," Penelope said, frowning. "You're a son of Hades. I should've guessed." She looked away, sadly. I almost felt bad. But then I remembered the type of person she was.

"You're acting different," I said.

"Maybe it's because I thought I killed someone." Penelope said. Her eyes widened. "I mean- I don't think I'm a  _murderer_  or anything, what I mean is… I thought I let Isabella die. And… that kind of hit me hard."

"I thought you didn't like people." I said.

"Maybe I was wrong," Penelope said, sadly. "Maybe I was  _wrong_  to hate."

She had a point.

"You've really come around," I said, after a while. "Also, glad you like my ring."

Penelope looked uncomfortable. "You heard me?"

"Yep," I said. "Do you say that to all people who are dying?"

Penelope just stared at me. "You're stupid."

"I thought you were being nice," I said, raising an eyebrow.

"I am," Penelope said, crossing her arms.

"You've got an interesting definition of 'nice'." I deadpanned. Penelope glared at me. The stare reminded me of her mother. She was intense, and wouldn't let anything get in her way. But she had a softer side that it seemed only mortals had, too. Mortals are more likely to change their ways than gods, after all.

"Sorry," she said. "I'm not that used to trusting people, either."

"That's something we have in common," I said. "Took me a while to start trusting people after my sister died."

Penelope frowned, a somber look in her eyes. "I know that feeling. My father…"

"Tried to get you to join some group with other demigods, right?" I asked.

Penelope scowled. "How did you know that?"

"Isabella told me."

"I told her to keep that a secret," Penelope gritted her teeth.

"Maybe she told me so I'd feel sympathy for you, or something," I shrugged. "She's like that. She wants everyone to get along."

"Hmph," Penelope said. She sighed, her face creasing up. "Yes, my father made me do things like that. These demigods were unkind, and my dad wouldn't hear me out when I told him I didn't want to associate with them anymore. He was like my mom. He loved victory. He wanted me to become a warrior. When it got too much, I prayed to my mother, begging for help. She refused for a while, so I ran away of my own accord, and eventually, on the term that I would achieve victory in some way, she led me to America."

"That explains a lot," I said. "I guess you're taking this as a chance to prove yourself."

"Yes," Penelope nodded. "Maybe that's why I was so… rude?"

I nodded.

"Rude," Penelope repeated the word, like it was an exotic fruit. "Well, you can't say I'm not justified, right?"

"You can't kill someone and say it was justified just because you were mad." I pointed out.

"You're stupid." Penelope grumbled.

"No," I smirked. "I'm correct."

"Okay," Penelope frowned. "You're a smart aleck."

I rolled my eyes. "We could bicker all day, but I think we have better things to do." I stood up, leaning against the wall of the cell. It reminded me of the Underworld, but a lot smellier. And quieter. "We need to find Isabella, and your mom's wings."

"And break out of here." Penelope added.

"No need to break out," I said. "We can shadow-travel."

"What?" Penelope asked, tilting her head.

I smirked. "You'll see."

* * *

I really wished sewers didn't have to smell so bad. The floor was like the world's most disgusting (and also biggest) puddle, and the walls were covered in grime. At least it was dark.

"Could you stop disappearing?" Penelope asked me, irritability. "Not all of us can snoop around in shadows."

"Maybe if you were quieter, it'd be a good start." I replied, shaking disgusting stuff off my now-filthy Nike runners.

"I'm the demigoddess of VICTORY, not the demigoddess of being quiet." Penelope snapped.

"I noticed," I rolled my eyes. I heard something grunting and squelching through mud in the distance. I put my finger to my lips, and dragged Penelope into the shadows. The stomping got louder, then disappeared.

"One good thing about this bad smell," I muttered, "is that it makes it a lot harder for monsters to smell us."

"I think I'd rather fight a monster than smell like a toilet seat." Penelope muttered back.

"You should probably fix your priorities," I replied. "Fighting monsters can get you killed."

"No," Penelope shook her head, "Monsters fighting  _me_  get killed."

I rolled my eyes. Her ego was still huge. I wasn't sure if anything could change it. "Come on."

We kept sneaking around. We passed some things that looked pretty disgusting, and some pretty ugly monsters that fit right in with the rest of the sewer. But no Isabella. I tried to sense her ring of mortality (every mortal has an aura of death around them that I can see, son of Hades perk), but it was pretty faint. At least she wasn't actually dead.

Eventually, the faint ring got a bit stronger. I started moving towards it, Penelope on my trail. We got to an area with two split paths. One of them was full of monsters, and the other was full of riches. I could sense them. Yep,  _another_  son of Hades perk.

"The wings are in there," Penelope said, glancing at the path with riches.

"And Isabella's down that way," I said, looking at the path full of monsters.

"I'll go after Isabella," Penelope said. "You get the wings."

"What?" I asked. "Penelope- you can't take on all those monsters by yourself. And besides, you're the daughter of the goddess of Victory. If anyone should be getting those wings-"

"I was the one who let Isabella get kidnapped," Penelope interrupted. "I was too busying trying to prove myself by fighting monsters." She gripped the front of my shirt, bringing me a little too close than I was comfortable with. Her eyes flashed with determination. "Nico, I must go after her. I have to redeem myself."

"But by yourself," I repeated. "You'll  _die_."

"Like I said," Penelope insisted, "Monsters get killed by  _me_."

"No," I shook my head. "No one's that skilled."

Penelope let me go. "No.  _Most_  people aren't that skilled." She backed away. "Get the wings, Nico."

"You're crazy," I spluttered.

"You heard me," Penelope growled, that harsh look in her eyes. I glared back at her.

"Fine," I said, "but I'll know if you do die. And you better make sure Isabella doesn't die either."

Penelope nodded, and raced over to the monsters. I followed the path to the wings, twitching nervously. Regret was a thumping pain at the back of my head. I walked slowly, passing gold, treasure chests, and lots of other stuff. It was dark, but there was a pale light ahead, glimmering against all the expensive stuff. I already knew it was the wings. The power was reaching me from where I was standing.

I moved faster, not noticing the mud beneath my feet getting more and more shallow. The wings were standing there in a pool of sunlight. They were golden, and very shiny; I had to cover my eyes for a moment. They filled me with a sense of confidence; I had the strong urge to put them on and fly out of the sewer. Yeah. I wanted to  _fly_.

My legs felt like jelly as I forced myself to keep walking towards the wings. They gave me confidence, but somehow, they also intimidated me. I slowly reached out my hand, and felt them; they had the coolness of metal, while also having the lightweight, gentle feeling that feathers had. Cautiously, I grabbed the wings; they were large but not heavy, so they were pretty awkward to carry, kind of like a big box. I slipped them onto my back (not wearing them, at least, not intentionally) and began speed-walking out.

I bet I looked pretty awkward; a scrawny teen boy with a big pair of golden wings balanced on his back. Part of me wanted to actually wear them, but I decided against because who knew what would happen. Usually, not something great.

I got out of the tunnel, and heard someone screaming from the tunnel with Isabella. I felt a wave of panic and ran down that path. I could sense life disappearing before my eyes.

No one was dead. But they were dying.

Penelope was backed up against a wall, covered in cuts and bruises. Isabella was stuck in some kind of cage. Monsters were everywhere. The girls had no chance.

Penelope looked at me, in fright.

"Put them on!" she screamed. What a stupid idea.

So I went against my better judgement and put the wings on. And then everything exploded.


	16. I blow everything up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so I know it's been a looonnnngggg time since the last chapter. I'm sorry about that. I've just been busy with my other fanfics, school work, and my comic. I also lost a lot of motivation for this fanfic. However, I don't want to discontinue this story, but updates will probably be a lot slower from now on.
> 
> I've got some chapters I pre-wrote for this fanfic so be on the lookout for those...
> 
> And thanks for your patience.

 

* * *

Imagine drinking 300 cups of coffee, 300 cups of sugar and getting super powers. And then your brain explodes.

Because that's what it felt like when I put the Wings of Victory on. In a way, I almost felt like a ten year old again. Except on steroids.  _And_  with super powers.

Suddenly I was flying, power thrumming all around me. Children of Hades weren't supposed to  _fly_. But then again, most people weren't supposed to wear Nike's wings.

I was kind of aware of what was happening, but I was also partly on autopilot. I had no idea how my friends were reacting. I just kind of knew that things were happening and I could fly. And that I crashed through a wall and caused a lot of explosions. Debris was everywhere, and the walls were slightly cracked. I heard yelling from the monsters.

"Who let him get the wings?" a monster growled. "Idiots!"

"Maybe he got them by himself," I replied, my voice suddenly a lot louder and more powerful. I felt more powerful too. Was this what it was like to be a god? Because I was starting to like it. I liked being super powerful, suddenly. Is that normal?

"Now, prepare to perish!" I yelled. I flew towards the monsters, creating even more explosions. I knocked them all down with one swing of my sword. And I enjoyed it. I liked winning now. I felt like I could win every marathon in the world. The Olympics? Piece of cake. Tour de France? I'd do it.

But above all, I felt… great. The feeling was so unnatural but so amazing at the same time. I'd never felt it before, at least, not so strongly. I wasn't scared of anything. I could've fought Gaia again, easily. Looking at it now, it was almost  _too_  great. It kind of scares me what could've happened to me if I kept the wings on for too long.

Anyway, I was still kicking butt. I grabbed a monster by the scruff of its neck (ha!) and threw it into the wall, like a football player. It crashed so hard the wall cracked. I was smiling too, really big smiles. My face was hurting from those smiles.

"Bring it on!" I yelled at the other monsters. "You think you can defeat me? I am the Ghost King! I am the witholder of victory!" (I sure was arrogant.)

The monsters stared at me.

"Foolish demigod," a giant growled. "You may have the wings, but you will never defeat the entire army!"

"We'll see about THAT!" I screamed back. And then I blew everything up.

No, I'm not exaggerating, I literally exploded the whole sewer. Power pretty much raced out of me, crashing into the walls like race cars. The ground was shaking, and it was raining debris. I heard even more yelling. Somehow, there was fire. I don't know where that came from. But I was feeling pretty satisfied.

"Nico!" Penelope screamed. "You've gone too far!"

"There is no such thing as too far," I yelled back. "I have victory on my side!"

"NICO!" Penelope yelled back, nearly dodging a piece of wall.

"We need to get out of here." Isabella said, clinging onto Penelope's arm.

"I can do that," I said. "But I have to kill these monsters first!"

"Nico!" Penelope yelled, stomping her foot. Ash was on her hair, making it look darker. "We'll get crushed to death if we stay here any longer, you idiot!"

I glared at her, crushing a piece of debris in my fingers. "Don't talk to me like that, you-"

"Help!" Isabella shouted. Her leg was trapped underneath some debris. A crazy monster was approaching her.

"You see what I mean?" Penelope snapped.

I folded my arms, my hair flying around my face in waves. Yep, that was happening as well.

"Let's get the Hades out of here." I said, scowling. I flew towards Isabella, and kicked the monster to death. I picked her up, sort of holding her like a baby. She looked up at me in relief. It was… maybe... kind of cute. And maybe... it made me feel like… a, um, big brother. I'm not repeating that, so don't ask.

Anyway, I flew over to Penelope too, and grabbed her arm.

"We're gonna go out with a bang," I said. "Ready?"

"No," Isabella whimpered.

"I'm always ready." Penelope grinned.

And then I flew upwards, and exploded everything. Again.

I crashed through the ground, causing a massive explosion. The mortals were freaked out. Behind me was a massive hole. There was a lot of smoke, too, which trailed behind me. I was zooming into the sky.

 _Oh, crap,_  I thought.  _Not supposed to be in the sky!_

I turned around at ridiculous speeds, zooming in out and between buildings. Now I really had no idea where I was going. I smashed through a building, somehow still holding onto my friends.

"LAND, YOU IDIOT!" Penelope screamed.

"I CAN'T CONTROL THIS THING!" I yelled back. By now, I was trying my hardest not to crash into a gazillion more buildings.

"FLY STRAIGHT!" Penelope yelled.

"I CAN DO NEITHER!"

"WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!"

I decided to focus on not wobbling. I was starting to get a little bit back on track, but my head was still spinning. I held out my arms (well, as much as I could while holding Isabella), like a plane. Now I was flying a little better. And guess what, I was kind of enjoying it. Ironic, right?

I actually smiled again.

"That's more like it!" Penelope said, encouragingly.

"Aww," Isabella sighed, "it was more fun when we were flying all over the place!"

"You wanna go back to doing that, kid?!" I asked, frowning.

"Yep!" Isabella replied.

"That was rhetorical!" I groaned.

Isabella just giggled.

"I'll admit," Penelope said, "it was kind of fun."

"You two are crazy." I said, rolling my eyes.

"No, we just like having fun!" Penelope said, who was now sitting on my back. If I was myself I would've been really uncomfortable about that.

"We should land," I decided. "I don't want to risk being up here anymore."

Both the girls sighed sadly. I rolled my eyes again. Girls were crazy. Thank the Gods I'm gay.

I descended, landing somewhat near the fountain Nike wanted us to go to. I put Isabella down, and Penelope jumped off me with a backflip.

"Show-off." I said.

"Says the one with the wings." Penelope scoffed. I rolled my eyes.

"At least I'm more in control of my own arrogance." I said. I slowly removed the wings, ignoring Penelope's ranting. As soon as I did, I fell over, slumping against the fountain. My legs felt like cement. It was like I'd been shadow-travelling, but a thousand times worse.

Isabella sat next to me, and offered me some water. "Wow, that drained you."

"Mmmhmm," I replied, taking a sip.

"Your feelings almost exploded my brain, by the way," Isabella commented. "Those wings made you pretty much  _radiate_  hubris. Kind of like how Penelope is… except she doesn't need wings to do that."

I snorted.

"What's so funny?" Penelope asked, hoisting up the wings.

"Nothing," I shrugged innocently. "When's your mom coming, by the way?"

"Right now." a new voice answered. A woman appeared before us. Guess who?

"Nike." I said.

"Congratulations, demigods!" Nike clapped. I noticed she wasn't facing Penelope, which was weird. "You completed the quest! Just as I thought you would."

Penelope bowed to her mother. "Of course, mother. Did I do well?"

"Not as well as I expected," Nike chided. "You let son of Hades take your spotlight by becoming soft."

Penelope looked at her shoes.

"If you can't live up to your promise…" Nike said, with a tight frown, "then you will receive no award. I will send you back to your father."

"Mother, no!" Penelope suddenly sounded like she was about to burst into tears. "You can't!"

I sighed. For once, I could be empathetic with Penelope. How many times had my father belittled me?

"Excuse me, Lady Nike," I spoke up. "But, to be fair, she fought a lot of monsters by herself. Without her, I wouldn't have been able to get the wings. She really helped."

Penelope looked at me, gratefully.

Nike frowned. "My children must be in the spotlight, son of Hades. She should've been the one wearing the wings."

I was about to lose my temper. But for the sake of my own life, I stayed calm. "Nike, I mean, Lady Nike, she-"

"She saved me!" Isabella blurted out. "She saved my life! And Nico's! And killed a bunch of monsters!" She looked angry. "You're just being a terrible mom, ma'am!"

"Isabella!" I yelled, horrified.

Nike glared at Isabella, looking severely disappointed, like she had come last in a marathon. "You should be thankful you are under special circumstances, or I would not hesitate to kill you, Soul's Child." She turned back to Penelope and I. "I'll let you stay, Penelope. But you must train at that demigod camp, and become my strongest hero."

"Yes, mother," Penelope nodded.

"And you, son of Hades," Nike looked at me with that harsh glare. I felt like I myself had just lost every marathon in the universe. "You are a powerful demigod. Perhaps a smart one, too. Even with that said, you must make the right decision. Or you will become an enemy to all."

I didn't say anything as Nike and her wings disappeared. In its place was an envelope. I picked it up. Inside were two overnight passes for a luxury hotel.

There was a silence.

"I'm sorry about my mother," Penelope said quietly, looking away.

"Don't worry about it," I said. "I know what it feels like. My dad used to compare to my dead sister. Really didn't help my self-esteem."

"Wait, really?" Isabella asked.

I sighed. "Let's not get into it."

"What's this… demigod camp my mother mentioned?" Penelope asked.

"Camp Half-Blood," I said. "I'd take you there, but… I've got a quest to finish. I'll give you the address, though."

"Thank you." Penelope smiled, as I recited the address.

"No worries," I said. I raised my hand. "Well. Uh, safe travels. I guess."

"You too," Penelope nodded. "Good luck on your quest, Nico. And. Sorry. About being a jerk."

I shrugged, putting my hands in my pockets. "I went nuts when I put those stupid wings on. All... all is forgiven." It was still hard for me to forgive people sometimes. But that's what fatal flaws are, I guess.

Penelope gave Isabella a little hug, and then we were on our way. I gazed over our luxury hotel passes, with a small sigh.

"Hey, Nico," Isabella nudged my elbow.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Nike called me… 'Soul's Child'," Isabella said. "What does that mean?"

I sighed, shaking my head. "No idea, Bella. We'll find out, probably."


	17. I go to the worst waterpark ever

Isabella clung onto my arm as we walked to the luxury hotel. Thank the gods, it was only a ten minute walk away; I was in no shape to walk a marathon.

I didn't bother to shake Isabella off. I just wanted to focus on getting to the stupid hotel.

"I miss Penelope," she said, sadly. Her feelings brushed against me, and I felt sad, too. Kind of against my will.

"Hey, I miss her too, but no need to make me feel so down about it." I grunted.

"It's kind of hard to stop…" Isabella sighed. "You're very tired, by the way. And yeah, you should call your boyfriend."

I gritted my teeth. "Stop reading my mind."

Isabella just giggled.

* * *

The hotel was impressive. Like,  _really_  impressive. Almost as impressive as the Lotus Hotel and Casino.

It was about 10 storeys, with a water park that had two slides and a swimming pool. Every room was a luxury suite with a bouquet dinner and built-in spa. There was also an arcade, a casino, a giant room for assemblies, a party room, and plenty more.

I didn't feel like going to any of those places. I just wanted to sleep.

After checking in at the fancy reception, we headed to our rooms. A porter insisted on carrying our backpack, even though it wasn't that heavy. My room was like stepping into Elysium. The carpet was white and fluffy and the bed was the softest thing I've ever laid on. It gets better, though. There was a dressing gown there, and it was so comfy I actually went up to reception and asked if I could buy it. They said no, but gave me a link to a website where I could buy one. I'd have to show it to Will or someone to buy it for me, since I can't use a computer to save my life.

I went back up to my room to sleep. Oh, and IM Will, too. He'd yell at me if I didn't. I was unlocking the door to my room when Isabella ran up to me. She was staying in a room nearby so I could keep an eye on her.

"Hey Nico," she said, "I'm going down to the waterpark."

"Mmm," I said, yawning. I barely heard her. Gods, those wings really had done a number on me.

"Do you want to come?" She asked.

"No," I grunted. "I'm tired. And plus, me and water don't mix very well. It's not really my type, y'know?"

"But what if something bad happens?" Isabella asked. "Like a monster appears or something..."

I sighed. "Then just don't go, kid."

Isabella looked disappointed. I felt disappointment come off her in waves, and it made my head hurt.

"Fine," I snapped, as her face brightened up. "You can go down there. I'll meet you there, soon. Just gonna call Will."

"Thanks, Nico!" Isabella said, hugging me. That caught me off-guard. Then she ran away, mortals staring at her as she passed. I rolled my eyes. Kids.

I headed inside my luxury room, adjusting my dressing gown. There was a balcony outside, where I could see the view of San Francisco. The sun was setting, making the city look like a sea of gold. I headed back inside, and went into the bathroom. There was a spa-bath in there, and a huge shower. The biggest shower I'd ever seen. I opened a window at the top of the bathroom, letting the pale sun shine in. I turned on the shower, getting my hair doused in freezing-cold water. Great.

I flipped a coin into the shower, saying, "Will Solace, Camp Half-Blood."

Will was in his cabin, hanging out with his siblings. He jumped when he saw me, then smiled.

"Nico!" he said, then frowned. "It's been ages! I tried IMMing you before, but you didn't answer me!"

"I've been busy," I sighed. "And I can't talk for long here, either. I've gotta go down to a waterpark."

"What?" Will asked, eyes wide.

I explained the past few days to him. Kayla and Austin appeared, so they heard the story, too.

"That Penelope kid sounds pretty aggressive," Austin commented. "Don't worry, man. If she comes here, we'll help her."

"Thanks." I said.

"You're not being a great babysitter by hanging out here and talking to us," Kayla said. "At least go down to the waterpark to keep an eye on her."

"With all those mortals?" I asked. "No thanks."

"The mist?"

"I want privacy, okay?"

"Nico," Will spoke up. "Just focus on your quest. And eat healthy. If you get sick at the end-"

"Yeah, I'll eat my greens," I snapped. I softened up. "I'd better go, then. See you guys."

"Bye!" They yelled, as Will waved his hand through the message. I brushed my hair out of my face (it was pretty damp) and left the room. I put my nose in the soft fuzziness of my dressing gown; gods, I loved that thing. I gazed at a map of the hotel, and headed to a lift. There was another kid in there, he was Filipino and looked around my age. He was also wearing a dressing gown. He seemed pretty mortal, thank the Gods.

"Hi," he said, as I entered the elevator.

I nodded politely. You could probably tell I wasn't in the mood for talking.

"So," he said. "Are you here with anyone?"

"My friend." I replied.

"I'm here with my family," the kid said. "They're at the waterpark. I was just getting this dressing gown."

I nodded again. I had no idea why this kid was talking to me, mortals are weird like that, I guess. Usually I drive people away, but this kid didn't seem to mind.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Waterpark, as well." I replied.

"Cool," the kid said. "Are you going to the party tonight?"

"Party?" I asked, raising my brow.

"There's a party in the assembly hall," the kid answered. "Everyone's invited."

"Great," I said, looking away. "Definitely not going."

"Why not?" the kid asked. I tried not to groan.

"You ask a lot questions," I said. "You shouldn't talk to strangers."

"But strangers are also friends you haven't met." the kid said. I snorted.

"In a fantasy world where there's sunshine and rainbows 24/7." I deadpanned.

That actually made the kid laugh.

"I like you," he said, grinning. "What's your name? I'm Jake."

"Nico." I said, shaking his hand. Names were dangerous, but this kid hadn't turned into a monster and tried to kill me yet, so that was a good sign.

The elevator opened.

"Nice to meet you, Nico," Jake said. Huh, people didn't say that often. Was Isabella's attractiveness rubbing off on me, making everyone want to be my best friend?

"Yeah," I said, quietly, looking for Isabella. "You too."

The waterpark was even bigger now that I was actually physically in it. The slides reached halfway up the building, and twisted all over the place like Percy when he was playing 'Extreme Twister' invented by Leo. Long story. No.  _Very_ long and painful story.

Narrowly avoiding running into some screaming kids, I looked around for my friend. I saw tons of other kids, on the slides, in the swimming pool, in the park. They were all having a great time. I was not.

I saw Jake with his family. It looked like he had five siblings, which reminded me of my father, oddly. I wondered what he thought of me going on this ridiculous quest? He hadn't stopped me, so I assumed that was about all the feedback I was going to get from him. Father of the year.

I couldn't see Isabella anywhere, so I called out her name.

"Isabella!" I shouted. I jumped out of the way of some more hyperactive kids. None of them were Isabella.

"Bella?" I cried out, again. "Bella!"

I didn't want to actually have to go on the stupid waterslides unless I had no choice, so I was craning my head to look everywhere I could. No luck.

"Looking for your friend?" Jake asked, appearing behind me.

"Yeah." I said.

"What does she look like?" Jake asked. I frowned. When it came to Isabella, that question could be… controversial.

"She's really pretty," I said. "Like, breathtakingly beautiful. Literally. You'll know when you see her."

"I actually saw someone like that," Jake said. "She had brown hair with blonde streaks, and she was wearing all grey. Does that sound familiar?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Where did you see her?"

Jake pointed at one of the waterslides. "Up there."

Once again, I tried not to groan.

"Do you know if she ever came down?" I asked.

"Not sure, but I don't think so," Jake said, shrugging. "She's probably still waiting in line. It gets really busy up there."

I bit my lip. Considering she was a demigod, that wasn't a good sign.

"Thanks for your help," I said, straightening up. "If you see her around, let me know."

"No worries," Jake replied. "Good luck finding her!"

I think I needed a lot more than good luck.

* * *

Jake was right about the slide being packed. I could barely move.

I slipped through the crowds of people, scanning for Isabella. I still couldn't see her.

"Hey!" I bumped into someone.

"Sorry," I muttered, and kept moving.

"Are you pushing in front of everyone?" the guy asked, glaring at me.

"No." I said, hurriedly getting away. I rubbed my arm, and was reminded why I hated touching people.

I got to the top of the slides, where the life guards eyed me curiously. I asked about Isabella.

"Saw a kid like her before," one of them said. "She went down the slide."

"Oh," I said, biting my lip. She must've still been down there after all. "Alright, thanks."

I was about to turn away, when suddenly I heard a massive explosion. I almost fell over. I looked back, and saw that the waterslide had been blown to bits. Best part? People were falling to their deaths.

Great.

I jumped into the shadows, and summoned as many skeletons as I could to catch the falling people. Landing on the skeletons wouldn't have been comfortable, but it would've broken the fall.

"Nico!" I heard a voice, amongst all the screaming and yelling. I looked up. Isabella!

"Hey..." I said, falling to my knees. Shadow-travelling is the worst.

Isabella screamed. There was a monster up there.

"You thought you could got rid me that easily, di Angelo?" he boomed. Great.

The manticore was back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys, once again my apologies for the slow updates. I had some time so I decided to work on this story again. Hope you enjoy the chapter. :)

**Author's Note:**

> Before you scream 'MARY SUEEEE' at me, there is a reason this character is unrealistically beautiful. It's a reference to something in Greek mythos actually. ;) See ya later!


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